


Itaru's Story

by AnnaOkegom



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Blood and Injury, Brotherly Love, Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Falling In Love, Gen, Little Brothers, Near Death Experiences, References to Depression, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 05:51:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 46,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17197736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOkegom/pseuds/AnnaOkegom
Summary: Itaru Uchiyama is just a normal boy that dreams of peace and happiness.His deepest dream is to protect what he cares for. His biggest wish is a world where wars do not exist.Having to take care of his dear little brother, keep his strict Father proud, convince his critic clan he is a good option for a heir, spend time with his fraternal friends and do missions for his great village, darkness surrounds him. But will the light inside of him be enough to combat the gloom?





	1. Prologue: What Makes a Shinobi

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AbsoluteSpoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsoluteSpoon/gifts).



Itaru Uchiyama was four years old.

And for some reason, there were mountains of dead bodies still bleeding and rotting around him. 

"This day was really productive." his father, who was standing next to him said.

He knew what productive meant. It meant that the people from other villages, known among them as the enemies, had suffered great losses. People had died. People from both sides were gone to never come back again, the only thing remaining to prove they were once alive in the same world as them being the cadavers on the floor. Itaru hated that sight, feared it, loathed it, he didn`t want to see it, he didn`t want it to happen again. He was staring forwards, with no trace of any emotion on his face, but inside it felt like he was dying. What he wanted was to grab his father and shake him, scream, cry, ask why that was happening and why did he have to see it. But instead what he did was blink and say:

"When... how long do you think this war will last?"

His father sighed and put his hand on Itaru`s head. He cringed with the touch, hoping his father didn`t notice it. Could he feel what was going inside him? Did he know how afraid he was? Was he sensing that he was merely wearing a façade? He hoped not. He hoped with his dear life that the answer was no. His whole body began shaking, and he wanted to close his eyes very shut and let the tears flow freely, but he couldn`t. 

"It`s hard to say." the man replied coldly.

_"Please let this end soon."_

Itaru wondered why was his father bringing him there, and for how long would he expose him to that gruesome vision. His four years old son--

"Do you know why I brought you here, Itaru?"

His throat was hurting. And he knew that if he opened his mouth the only sound that would get out would be a kind of strangled cry that preceded the uncontrollable tears. So he didn`t even dare open his mouth and hoped his father would just go on with his speech.

"I brought you here so that you could see the world. The real world, not what you see normally by now." the man continued, still looking at the horizon just like his son. "This is the place where we live in. It was always like this, and it will always be like this. A real shinobi must be prepared for something like this to happen all the time, and they must be prepared to take part in this. Not because we want to see people die. Exactly because we don`t. Shinobi fight because they want to protect what is precious to them."

But how did it get to the point where something like that had to happen? Why did it start? Why? WHY? 

"For me, what`s precious is my clan and my family. I don`t want to see it get destroyed and I don`t want to see anyone I care for dying. That includes you, Itaru. I was fighting thinking of everything I hold precious and imagining what could happen if I stopped. That`s why I fight."

But those people who died also had things they held precious. They also had families. They also had clans. They also had villages. They were also human, like them...

"This is not the first war humanity has fought, Itaru." Those words made Itaru`s whole body become stiff just by imagining how it had been in the past. "And it`s not the last one either. One day, when the world falls into war again... you will have to fight."

A liquid drop dripped from Itaru`s chin to the floor. For a moment he feared he was crying, but then more of that liquid fell over his head, and as he looked up, he saw rain falling from the sky. It soon became heavier, and Itaru and his father were soaking wet, and the child`s hair bangs were completely glued to his face, covering his eyes. Now the sound of the water hitting the floor was filling their ears. The weather had been like that for the past weeks, and Itaru`s mother had never let him go outside during those small storms, so he just watched the raindrops patter against the windows quietly, safe in the coziness of his home. Now the rain was washing the cadavers` blood away. The sky was crying. And when he realized, Itaru was crying alongside the sky, his tears camouflaged by the raindrops sliding down his face.

Then another thing other than tears seemed to be preparing to leave his eyes. He felt something strong, something burning behind his eyes, and it was accumulating there. Then, as suddenly as he had felt it, it gushed out in a strong burst. A crimson tear left his left eyes, first, and then his right eye, second. He payed no mind to that, as he continued to stare at the preview of Hell in front of him, unable to look at away but not wishing to spend anymore time seeing that. He knew that the excruciating expressions the corpses wore in their faces would haunt him at night, in his nightmares, if he could grasp an opportunity to fall asleep after that, or in his thoughts and memories, probably.

"That is why I`m showing you this cruel sight." his father said, his voice startling Itaru, who had already forgotten he was there. He wanted to rush his son`s maturity, that was the reason.

That great war embraced all villages of all countries. Even the ones that opted not to fight got involved in a way or another, because after all, they weren`t invulnerable, and the small villages between the frontiers of big countries were the ones that suffered the most. 

The Third Shinobi World War ended a few time after Itaru had been exposed to it. Konoha and Iwa had reconciliated politically and now the war was gone, leaving a moment of peace for the villages to focus of reconstructing themselves and growing again. The Second Tsukikage had also quit his position, leaving it to a man named Takashi Minamoto, one of the most valuable shinobi during the whole war. And other names had also become quite popular and frequently said around Soragakure, such as Koumori, 14 years old, and Sumire, 7 years old by the end of the war. Itaru could only be glad when the end of the war was officially announced, bringing all those changes to his life. But the only thing that angered him was that most part of the village`s left side had been destroyed so now he couldn`t go to the park and to some stores he used to go with his mother every day. What his mother did was chuckle, ruffle his hair and say it was alright, because soon something really good would happen to him and he wouldn`t have to keep thinking about parks or stores. 

Only a few days later it was revealed to him what it was. His mother was pregnant, and in a few months, there would be a new baby in the house. A boy or a girl. A little brother or a little sister... someone for him to help raise and take care of. He couldn`t help but feel responsible for the future of that child growing in his mother`s belly. He already loved them, not because they were an Uchiyama, but because they were his sibling. And he anxiously waited for the day he would finally be able to see them. That day would only come eight months later, when Itaru was already five years old. His mother gave birth to a baby boy. His little brother.

He stared at the newborn baby in his mother`s arms curiously, as the infant made uncoherent sounds and small movements. 

"Satsuki," his father said, in a proud voice. "His name will be Satsuki."

A reference to the moon, something that was common in Soragakure. "Sa" means "small", and "tsuki" means "moon". So the name of Itaru`s younger brother was literally "small moon". Knowing that, he looked outside through the hospital window and noticed that the moon couldn`t be larger. But he was happy nonetheless. His deepest dream was to protect everything he held dear and never let a war happen again and affect them. And Satsuki was already one of those things. Itaru had already loved him since the moment he discovered about his existence. Hesitant, he proceeded to leave the window`s side and quietly approach the hospital bed, where his brother laid down, his eyes closed, on his mother`s arms. Their mother. The 5-years old`s hand vacillated a few times before he finally used it to touch the newborn`s skin, and receded after he groaned lightly. His mother chuckled.

"It`s okay," Her tone was calm and reassuring. "You can touch him, Itaru."

Still hesitant, but a little more confident, Itaru reached for Satsuki again, and this time, didn`t break contact and focused at his little brother`s facial expression. He was still an infant, but it amazed Itaru how similar were their physical traits. Satsuki`s skin color was light and mildly pale like his and their parents`, and even their black hair was the same shade. When Satsuki opened his eyes, they were big, round and onyx. Just like his. Just by looking at the two, one could tell that Satsuki would look a lot like Itaru when he grew up. That thought forced the corners of his mouth into a smile the moment Satsuki lifted his tiny hands to grab Itaru`s fingers.

"Do you want to hold him, Itaru?" his father asked, halting all of his eldest son`s movements.

"I..." he started. "I think so." 

He then sat down in a comfortable couch next to the bed and was handed the baby right after. Satsuki was light, but at the same time, Itaru could feel his weight. The knowledge that, for some time, the life of his little brother was within his responsibility both pleased and scared him. But it pleased him more. One of his hands was slid down Satsuki`s head and neck, and the other one, under his bottom and hips. It was a good way to gaze into his eyes as he gently rocked him back and forth. That was their first real meeting, Itaru thought, so he might as well introduce himself.

"Hey... Satsuki," the words left his lips in a whisper and Satsuki`s eyes shone, like he was paying attention to every word and had recognized his name. "This is... Itaru. Your big brother." Satsuki kept making those childish meaningless sounds, seeming like he wanted to copy what was being said. "I hope I can be a good brother. I want to protect you, Satsuki... I love you more than anything in the world."

Finished with his speech, Itaru lifted his head and his father took the baby from his arms. Before, Itaru couldn`t wait for Satsuki to be born, but now, he couldn`t wait for Satsuki to grow up. They would live happily together, as family, they would play together, train together and do everything together. One day, Satsuki would even surpass him, and make sure his dream lived. 

Itaru smiled. The next years were going to be so perfect.


	2. Chapter 1: Contortion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When danger approaches, Itaru does his best to ensure his little brother and mother`s safety.

Ever since the day his Father had shown him the real world, not the one he was used to, everything Itaru did all day long was train. There was not a single day he skipped his training, no matter how tired he was from last day`s training. It didn`t take long for him to get used to the daily routine, especially considering he thought of everything as very easy. He was a natural-born prodigy, of course. But not even a natural-born prodigy could enroll in the Academy at age 5. There was still an year full of practice left. Itaru`s biggest and only wish was to turn himself into an excellent ninja and protect everything around him. No wars would ever devastate the world again if he could accomplish that. The way he saw the adults talking and behaving quickly made him realize that their minds were closed to such idea, and it was up to him to fulfill that wish. Alone.

The Osoidougan had tormented him with headaches and eye irritation at first, but none of the symptoms made Itaru even think of giving up on the arduous training he placed upon himself. His Father was proud of his abilities, because he thought he was training to fight in the next war, if it happened. Itaru didn`t want that. He was training to help make wars cease forever. And he was just 5 years old, so if he spent the following years training like that, his objective would be closer and closer every day. His chosen training location was the forest next to his house. It was rather big, but you could only get lost if you went deep inside, and Itaru always made sure to stay on the borders, where he could see his house. On the trees around him were dart boards with red circles on the middle, where he would throw his kunai and shuriken.

There were five boards in total. Two were on the two trees in his right. Other two were on the two trees in his left. And the remaining one, the most difficult one, was placed on a fallen log in front of him, facing the other side, so Itaru couldn`t see it. And there six kunai in total. Three were between the fingers of his right hand and the other three were between the fingers of his left hand. Breathing out, Itaru kicked the ground beneath him, jumping, and he was on the air and upside down. The first part was the easiest one: he simultaneously threw two kunai to each side, and as they flew toward the targets, he threw the remaining kunai on his left hand to his right one. 

"Osoidougan!" His sclera turned to a darkish color and his iris turned crimson, and he activated the Slow-Motion right after. The world around him began to turn slower and Itaru launched one of the kunai forward. When it was approaching the log, it was hit by the other one, which changed its course.

In that moment, Itaru deactivated his doujutsu and landed on the floor. He slowly approached the log and jumped to the other side, only to see that there was a kunai right on the middle of the painted circle. The one he used as a deviator, how he called them, was on the tree next to the log. He collected all of them and the dart boards right after it. The sky was beginning to turn black, he had to go home. So Itaru ran out of the forest with all the items in his arms and came inside his cozy home.

"I`m back." he said, and on his right he saw his mother sitting on a chair with his baby brother on her arms.

"Welcome back, Itaru!" Etsu smiled as Satsuki tugged on her hair. Satsuki liked pulling things, hair included. "How was training?"

"Good." the boy replied simply, and signed with his head towards the items he was holding against his chest, and dark strands of hair fell over his eyes. "Mother, do you know where is Father? I`d like to ask him to lend me another dart board and give me some tips."

"He`s in his room, but I think he`s busy. You can go check if he`s finished, though."

His Father had never been that busy. He knew his subordinates came sometimes so that they all could discuss things, since after all, Kenshin was the head of the Uchiyama clan, but they normally left some time before Itaru came home. He had even seen them leave while training on the forest occasionally. Nevertheless, Itaru nodded and jogged along the corridor, as Satsuki extended his arms in that direction and groaned, as if asking him to come back. When Itaru was close to his Father`s room, he began hearing voices coming from inside. Some of them were shouts.

"It`s always like this! They never care about us, they couldn`t care less!" a man stormed inside. His voice was a little familiar to Itaru. "What do they think? That we`re going to destroy Soragakure as soon as we get into power?"

"Shinto, stop shouting. My wife and my son are outside." Itaru heard his Father speak up. For a moment, he froze in fear that his Father had noticed he was eavesdropping on one of his conversations, but calmed down as soon as he realized he meant Satsuki. 

"I`m sorry, Kenshin-sama. I lost control," the same voice as before spoke up again, considerably lower. "But still. Who do those bastards think they are? For so many years they have been shunning us, purposely keeping us away from power."

"It`s true, Kenshin-sama," another voice said. That one was familiar to him too. "It`s been like this since the reign of the First Tsukikage and the incident with Makoto-sama. They pretend we don`t exist. We can`t keep up like this. You know that."

Itaru`s heart kept banging on his ribcage fast. Was he really listening to a conversation between adults, one of which was his Father? 

"At least the First had actual morals and bothered to do a plebiscite." another man said. "And this 'Takashi Minamoto'... I`m sure you are even stronger than him, Kenshin-sama."

"Takka, stop. I don`t need anyone to give me words of sympathy at this point." Kenshin said and stopped right after. "Itaru, I already know you are here. Come in."

His heart almost stopped at the words, but he quickly did as he had been told and came inside to see, as expected, his Father, and three other men he recognized a little. Shinto had short black hair that was starting to turn gray, Osamu had his hair styled in the same way, but his was still completely back and Takka, who was 19 years old, had long, dark brown hair. All of them stared directly at Itaru without blinking, judging the future head of their clan mercilessly.

"I`m sorry, Father. I was going to come in, but I thought you were busy and I didn`t want to disrupt you." the boy said, ignoring the three pairs of eyes glaring at him.

"I _am_ busy." Kenshin retorted in a way that almost made Itaru feel guilty. "So just say what is it."

"I wanted to give you these back," Itaru gave him the dart boards and kunai. "And I also wanted to borrow more dart boards, if you can. I also need some tips on certain subjects."

"Alright. Now I can`t, but later we can talk about that. You may go now."

Itaru calmly nodded and left the room, still feeling the stares on his back. As soon as he closed the door, the people inside started talking again, this time much lower.

"That is your eldest son Itaru, right, Kenshin-sama?" Osamu asked. "How good is he?"

"The boy is a prodigy. He excels in everything he does and he ratiocinates like someone much older than his age." his Father responded. "If I was to choose who would be the next Tsukikage, it would definitely be Itaru."

Would he say the same if he knew about Itaru`s dream of peace? He couldn`t help but wonder that. Why did his Father love him? Was it because he was his son or because he was his heir, his legacy? What did he see him as? A feeling of uneasiness curled around his stomach and Itaru decided he didn`t want to be there and listen anymore. Silently running on his tiptoes, he found himself back to where Etsu and Satsuki were. The baby was laying on the fluffy carpet on the floor, trying to crawl.

"What did he say, Itaru?"

"He`s busy now. I`ll talk to him about it later." Itaru crouched on the floor next to Satsuki and smiled at him.

Etsu smiled too.

"You`re going to be a great big brother, Itaru… I`m sure of that."

***

Satsuki was wrapped on a white blanket that Itaru had smartly tied around his neck. This way, the two of them could be as close as possible during that night. Their parents had gone out and asked him to take care of his little brother for that night, which Itaru happily agreed to. Itaru had mostly hoped he would get to interact more with Satsuki, only to find out he was deeply asleep. But he didn`t mind, because when they were older he would have all time in the world to spend with him. They were both sitting on the couch of the living room peacefully.

All of a sudden the window was shoved open by the strong wind and hit against the wall, making a loud sound that startled Itaru. His first instinct was to look down and pull Satsuki closer, but at least he was still asleep. It was amusing how much of a deep sleeper the little boy was. Immediately, Itaru got up and walked there to close the window. It was weird. He was sure he had locked all the windows and doors as soon as his parents left, but maybe he had forgotten that one. When he reached the side of the window, however, he noticed that the window lock was broken, split apart. Had that wind really been strong to the point to open the locked window and break the lock like that?

He looked up. The moon was shining greatly, just like the stars around it. Not even that could brush off the feeling that something bad was going to happen out of Itaru`s mind.

Satsuki began to cry. He was awaken.

"Shhh," Itaru hissed gently, rocking the baby back and forth. "It`s alright, Satsuki. I`m here with you. I`ll always be. Everything will be alright."

Despite his sweet words, cold sweat made its way down Itaru`s face. Something was happening. Something big.

And then, Soragakure fell into chaos. On the top of the tower of the Uchiyama District was Kenshin Uchiyama, gazing down at his disorderly village. In one of the borders right in the entrance of the village was a giant cloud made of dust, and the only visible thing inside it were four red tails moving around and contorting. A roar emerged from the Four-Tails` mouth. Kenshin squinted his eyes, gazing at the terrible sight with some of the other members of the Uchiyama clan around him.

"T-that is t-the..." Shinto started, but was unable to finish the phrase.

"F... F-Four-Tails..." Takka was the one who completed, from Kenshin`s right, while trying his best to calm his shaking body.

There was no doubt it was the Four-Tails.

"Send our ninjas there. I`m going too soon." he said shortly after.

"You are going too, Kenshin-sama?" Osamu`s fear was clear within the question.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I am. Every help is welcome in a situation like this, and I can`t stand around and do nothing." 

"B-but..." Shinto`s voice died midway into the sentence.

Engage on a fight with a Tailed Beast was the same as challenging death, and everyone knew that most of the ninjas who had gone to fight against the Four-Tails had died.

"Captain..." Takka already had tears on his eyes. 

"If we use the Exterior Limits, we can confuse the beast enough to calm it down and conquer it. From the whole clan, my Osoidougan is the strongest, so I`ll be more than useful at the battlefield."

"Captain!" said a man who had just arrived. "We received orders to keep all Uchiyama away from the battlefield! They want us to help everyone evacuate to the underground base."

"What?!" Osamu yelled.

"Because... they probably thought of the Exterior Limits too. They think we`re using it to incite the Four-Tails to attack the village..." 

"So basically, you`re telling me they think we are doing _this_?!" Takka shouted angrily. He clenched his fists with pure hate and lowered his head. Kenshin pretended not to notice the hateful tears flowing from his eyes. He understood him, because he too had felt that on the start, but he had eventually gotten used to the prejudice. Not quite used, actually, because he still felt anger. It just didn`t surprise him anymore. And Takka was still young.

"Tell them I have received the order. We shall do as they want. Let`s go. Let`s go, Takka!" Not waiting for anyone else, Kenshin ran out of the building. His biggest concern as a Father and a husband now was the safety of Itaru, Satsuki and Etsu, but as a ninja, the mission always went first. And he was a ninja.

***

"Itaru! Itaru, where are you?!" 

"Mother, I`m here!"

Itaru came running out of his room, Satsuki still wrapped around the white blanket tied around the boy`s neck, straight onto his Mother`s arms as she sobbed with relief to see her two sons were alive and well. Satsuki made a failed attempt to pull her hair, put she soon let go of Itaru.

"Since I imagined you`d come here, I decided to wait so that you wouldn`t be worried. I thought of leaving, but it was too cold outside for Satsuki and we could get injured." Itaru said quickly. "The door and windows` locks are broken."

"I`m so glad you two are alright... we have to go now."

Nodding, Itaru grabbed his Mother`s hand and the three of them left the house in a hurry. They could see broken things outside and overall, havoc around. The sight itself was so agonizing that they lost sense of direction and spent some seconds trying to remember where was the secret underground base before Etsu tightened the grip on Itaru`s hand and pulled him forwards. As they walked, Itaru could hear and see the suffering of the people on the streets, and a few times, he stopped walking, to try to help the people, but soon resumed his movements. That was just like what he had seen one year ago. War. Deaths. From the bottom of his heart, what he wanted was to become strong and help avoid all kind of fights.

He wanted to be a protector.

***

"The Third Tsukikage Takashi Minamoto and his wife, Kohaku Uzumaki, sealed the Four-Tails inside their son, Katsumi Minamoto." Shou Minami, the Second Tsukikage, announced. "They sacrificed their lives to protect the village."

There were four people on the reunion room. Four people that were once a team but now had distanced themselves to the point of hate. A faint, melting candle on the middle of the square-shaped wood table they were sitting at, each one in a different side, was the only source of light in the room. It was overall too big and almost as dark as the atmosphere surrounding it. But differently from what one would normally do in that situation, to light up the mood, none of them decided to talk, and let their silence express their distaste in being there. They were the Second Tsukikage, Shou Minami, his counselor Fudou Murano and two members of the official Soragakure council, known as Tsubaki Miyamoto and Tsukimaru Hajime.

"What a _great_ sacrifice." Fudou mumbled sarcastically. "Soragakure is half destroyed. We may have suffered more with his incident than with the last war."

"Had it not been for them, we would still have a beast rampaging in the middle of our city. I`d appreciate if you didn`t belittle their sacrifice, Fudou." Shou retorted.

Fudou nodded, hiding his anger. He hated Shou. Hated him with all his strength. But by hiding that, he would reach even higher lengths, so as much annoying as it was, it was worth it. And, plus, the best thing that could possibly happen had happened: the Third Tsukikage was dead. Fudou didn`t even try hide his glee when one of the members of Hashi told him the news. Fudou was glad Takashi Minamoto was dead, and he would be ever more glad when he was buried, deep underground, and away from the title of Tsukikage. He hated both Shou and Takashi as much as a human being could possibly hate another.

"So you are going to take the position of Tsukikage now, Shou?" he shot the question at his former teammate, his tone suspiciously sweet. _"Say yes."_

"No." Came the answer, hitting him like a blunt punch to the face and making the smile that had began to form on his face die midway through.

"What do you mean no?"

"Apparently, Takashi Minamoto named Hachirouta Katsuragi Fourth Tsukikage before dying." Tsubaki spoke up for the first time ever since she had met them in the room. "He was there when the Tsukikage died, along with other trustworthy people that confirmed the story."

Fudou clenched his hands into fists under the table. Even when dead, Takashi Minamoto found a way to ruin his plans. 

_"Damn you, Takashi Minamoto... damn you! I hope your soul burns in hell for all eternity!"_

_"_ We have to respect the Tsukikage`s choice, and Hachirouta shall be named the Fourth as soon as possible." said Tsukimaru, in an attempt to rush everything to get out as there.

"Wait." Fudou said bluntly. "We can`t name that man the Tsukikage. Not now."

"May I know why, Fudou?" Shou asked with a sigh.

"Hachirouta Katsuragi has been shown to be a prodigy, yes. However we`ve never had a proof of his real abilities as a leader, and that is what makes a Tsukikage." Fudou thanked his ability to create speeches and plans at the last second. It was certainly useful in moments like this. "And Hachirouta had been a student of Takashi Minamoto," He cringed just at saying the name. ", for seven years. The bond between them was almost unbreakable. And if Hachirouta witnessed Takashi Minamoto`s death, he definitely is not at the right mental state to assume this position. Please, Shou, you have to reconsider that."

Tsubaki and Tsukimaru`s upset was obvious on their faces. 

"We can`t go against the Tsukikage`s decision. This case is closed."

"Shou! Listen to what I`ve just told you! Hachirouta Katsuragi is in no condition to assume! It doesn`t matter if the Tsukikage said that. We have to do what`s better for the village!" 

"I`ll think about it."

"You have to decide _now_! Our village needs a Tsukikage! _You_ need to assume the position right now!"

After that, the four of them stayed in silence for almost ten minutes before Shou finally broke the silence afterwards:

"I will assume the Tsukikage position temporarily until Hachirouta Katsuragi is in condition to assume."

"You have made the right choice, Shou." As Fudou got up, a dark smile took over his lips.

Temporarily was more than enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a good chapter to write. Things have started to get interesting in the end. I really wanted to develop Fudou more. He`ll serve as an antagonist in this story.


	3. Chapter 2: Heart and Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru makes his first friend.

The following day, Itaru woke up in his room, which was weird, because he didn`t remember going home the previous day. His memories were blurry, but he remembered spending the night sitting on the rocky floor of the underground hideout, with his Mother sitting there by his side and holding Satsuki. There were other people around him, everywhere, and even though it was big, it was uncomfortably tight and made Itaru feel claustrophobic. Itaru had tried to make himself as small as possible to give more room to his Mother, his little brother, and of course, for the people around him. That place was either absolutely silent or filled with the screams and sobs of people, mainly children. It had been an agonizing night. Itaru tried his best to stay awake as much as he could to ensure the safety of Etsu and Satsuki, but he fell asleep at some point, and woke up shortly after, haunted by nightmares where the war would take his family away from him and force him to watch as they vanished into thin air hopelessly.

He had probably fell back asleep later. And then taken out of that horrid place. Getting up, Itaru opened the curtains of his bedroom to note it was very early in the morning, and the sun was bathing Soragakure with its bright light. Far ahead, he saw platforms of wood and rocks, without ninjas building. Reconstructing the village. The floor was full of wreckage and construction material, and it looked like a full side of the village had been destroyed, so it would take some time for it to be accessible again. That was even worse than the war. As soon as he turned back, the door was open and his Father came inside.

"Father..." he said.

"The Third Tsukikage gave his life to save the village yesterday," Kenshin started, looking away. Itaru`s eyes widened. "We are going to his funeral now."

After saying those words, he left immediately. Itaru kept staring at the door for a few seconds before going towards his closet to get ready. The Third Tsukikage was the kind of man he would like to be in the future. Someone who values peace above everything else and would be glad to give his own life to make sure it was always reigning.

***

That was the first funeral Itaru had ever attended. He recognized the faces of the people around him from last night, and nothing had really changed, only the anguish on their faces was clearer since they were all wearing black. Itaru himself was wearing black, and the only change was that the clothes were covering his whole body but his neck and head. Black clothes were often his choice, but they were normally just short-sleeved shirts and shorts. In the middle of the crowd made of all citizens from Soragakure were two closed coffins, that Itaru knew contained the two dead bodies of Takashi Minamoto and Kohaku Uzumaki. Itaru heard some people crying behind them. He saw some people trying not to cry and others pretending they were not crying. But none of that mattered, since everyone was devastated with their Tsukikage`s death. 

"May their souls be blessed," Etsu whispered, holding the already-asleep Satsuki on her arms.

Itaru was also devastated in a way. Someone who had protected their village and its inhabitants like that didn`t deserve to die. The least he could do was, just like his mother was doing, hope he had gone to a good place. In that moment, a light breeze blew past them and he remembered what his Father had told him during breakfast. The Tsukikage had a baby. A little baby just like Satsuki. And he was an orphan now. Itaru`s heart ached with that thought. If anything happened to him and his parents, Satsuki would be alone too, too young to even attend a funeral, if there was one. He frantically looked around to see if anyone had brought the child along, and after some time, spotted him on the arms of the previous, and now current apparently, Tsukikage. He was wrapped on a soft black blanket in a way Itaru couldn`t see his face, but spotted ruffled, grayish white hair.

The atmosphere didn`t just look gloomy, it was indeed gloomy. When he had woken up, the weather was sunny and calm, but as soon as they had arrived in the local, the sky turned to a grayish color with the clouds trying to hide it. He wouldn`t be surprised if it rained. He looked at the coffins again. Each one had a short wooden pillar on its side, with one in the space between them containing white candles that had flames dancing against the wind in a fight to not be extinguished. Over the coffins were also flower arrangements, and behind them, two photographs of the two of them, where Itaru couldn`t see the details but could see they were smiling. 

And then the Second Tsukikage came, no longer holding baby Katsumi Minamoto on his arms, and stood still on the middle of the circle formed by the crowd to begin the speech.

"In this fateful morning, all of us, Soragakure citizens, are reunited here to mourn the loss of the man known as the Third Tsukikage of Soragakure, Takashi Minamoto, and his wife, Kohaku Uzumaki." Shou began, turning around as he spoke to face everyone there. "Takashi Minamoto was much more than just the person who administered Sora. He was also the one who made sure all of us would have what we have now and be what we are now. The Tsukikage`s responsibility is to take care of the people and the village and love them." Fudou rolled his eyes at the statement. "His wife was also not just a mere woman. She was the one who helped him the most in this difficult task by giving him support and acting as a mother to all of us and the village." Even during the short pause he made to breathe, loud sobs were audible. Takashi had been in the Tsukikage position for just a year, but just that time was enough for him to be loved by all the village, with few exceptions. "Last night, both of them chose to give their own lives and sacrifice the future of their own dear child to ensure the future of the village. Let us pray for Takashi Minamoto and Kohaku Uzumaki`s lives."

The next minutes were full of silence. Not awkward silence, but respectful silence. Itaru closed his eyes and started thinking about what Shou had just said. The position of Tsukikage was what he had been dreaming of since he was 4 years old. He wanted to take care of those people and that village, and he aleady loved them. He wanted peace, and the Tsukikage was peace. The Tsukikage… was the symbol of peace. When he opened his eyes again the sky was no more gray and gloomy, but now blue and calm yet again. Peace and hope. The pallbearers lifted the two coffins and started carrying them away on their shoulders. To the cemetery. They would stay there until the sight was out of view, and then everyone would go back to their usual routines. But the black clothes would remain there for the rest of the day to show respect.

Itaru felt kind of uneasy. Like somebody was staring at him. He looked up to the side to see a man that must have been on his fifties, around the same age as Shou, with his black empty eyes directed on his direction. As soon as he realized the child looking back at him, he turned away. That was weird, but Itaru quickly brushed it off.

"Itaru… come on. We should get going now." Etsu said to him.

"Yes..." he quietly mumbled and grabbed her hand before parting.

***

Fudou stared down at the grave in front of him with disgust. Takashi Minamoto`s grave.

"So we meet again, Takashi Minamoto... even though I don`t appreciate this." he said. "During such short time you managed to seal the Four-Tails inside your son and leave a successor... that`s quite impressive, even I have to admit that. But what`s more impressive is that even when you are dead you cause me trouble." Fudou smiled. "But it`s completely fine... because you failed. I won. Hear that, Takashi? I won!"

And right before leaving, Fudou Murano went out of his way just to spit on Takashi`s grave in anger.

***

Again, Shou Minami, Tsukimaru Hajime, Tsubaki Miyamoto and Fudou Murano were reunited together in a room. The atmosphere was slightly lighter because of the weather outside, but still none of them said a thing.

"What do you still want with us, Fudou?" Tsubaki asked, annoyed at how her voice sounded like a plead. For her, Fudou was just a memory, a ghost from her past that would torment and chase her forever. She made sure to curse him every time she remembered him.

"You seem irritated. I`ve only asked you all to gather here because yesterday you seemed like you wanted to go home so badly and I didn`t want to keep holding you." The fake concern in his voice almost made Tsubaki and Tsukimaru vomit. "There was still something I wanted to discuss with you."

"And what would that be, Fudou?" Shou asked patiently.

"I believe that the responsible for the attack that claimed many lives, including the Third Tsukikage`s, last night, is the Uchiyama clan."

All of them stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.

"There`s no doubt the technique they name 'Exterior Limits' can easily anger a beast like that." he began explaining. "You all know the Uchiyama have openly shown their dissatisfaction multiple times. And I discovered through reliable sources that the head of the clan, Kenshin Uchiyama, was revolted after Takashi Minamoto was chosen as the new Tsukikage, and the only other candidate was the boy named Koumori."

"That is possible, but I won`t judge them because of a mere possibility. And you shouldn`t do that either." Shou replied sharply. "And what do you even suggest?"

"I think you should pay more attention to their movements. Send some Anbu to their district to investigate them. I`d also like to ask for your permission to send some members of Hashi there as well."

"I won`t simply monitor all the members of one of the largest clans in our village 24 hours per day, Fudou. That is impossible. Nobody would have the time and energy to do that, not even you, I`m sure."

"Well, then everything I can do is apologize. I thought it was a good idea. You know... to take care of the people and the village." There was sarcasm in the last line.

No more words had to be said. The meeting was over.

***

Again, like always, Itaru Uchiyama was training by himself on the woods next to his house. Since his Father was way too stressed for him to ask for more kunai, he decided to just get shuriken. He was much better at using kunai than shuriken, mostly because he had some problems holding shuriken. The five dart boards he had were already placed on the tops of the trees, because he had decided to go to greater lengths that time. And, spinning around, he threw all the shuriken on different directions. All of them had hit the targets on the very cost of his previously-uninjured fingers. They were now bleeding with short cuts on each one.

"That was really good!" said a cheerful voice behind him.

Itaru turned around and saw a boy. He had, just like him, coal-black hair and eyes of the same color, just like most pure members of the Uchiyama clan, but differently from him, the boy`s hair was messy on the top, instead of straight and silky like Itaru`s. The boy chuckled and extended his hand, and only after some seconds of staring Itaru shook his hand. He was much taller than Itaru and he also looked older. He also had a Sora forehead protector shining on his forehead.

"My name is Shinsui Uchiyama. You are Itaru Uchiyama, aren`t you? The son of the clan`s head."

So he was indeed from the same clan as him. 

"Yeah, I am." Itaru nodded, wiping his bloody hands on the back of his shirt. Shinsui seemed to notice, as his eyes widened and he reached out for the younger boy`s hands, taking them over his owns.

"You cut yourself?" he asked, tracing the little cuts with his fingers.

"It`s nothing, really. I was training with shuriken... I`m not really good at holding them."

"Oh, that`s true. You`re much better with kunai."

Itaru frowned at him. How did he know that? Shinsui very soon realized the weirdness of what he had just said and laughed while scratching his neck, while Itaru maintained his severe expression.

"Ahaha! I`m sorry, this sounded weird. And kinda creepy, too." He stopped laughing, and instead, smiled gently at Itaru. "Well, basically, you aren`t the only one whose house is connected to this little place. I like coming here whenever... sometimes. And I`ve seen you training. I`ve got to say... you`re really good. That`s what people call prodigy. And how old are you, Itaru?"

"I`m five years old. I`ll be turning six soon." 

"I`m seven, and I`m turning eight soon too." Shinsui took the shuriken from Itaru`s hands. "Here, I`ll teach you how to hold a shuriken so that you`ll never get cut again. See this hole they have in the middle? You`re supposed to put your thumb in it." He started doing it as he explained. "Then you pass the other fingers through... and place each one of them between one of the spikes. See?"

"Hm... I think I`ve got it, yes." Shinsui handed Itaru one of the shuriken and he quickly reproduced the movement. "I did it?"

"Yeah, that`s it! Just that! Easy, right? And you`re a fast learner, too. You truly are a prodigy. You kinda remind me of myself... I was like you when I was younger. How about... we be friends, Itaru? So I can help you with training?"

"That would be... nice." That probably sounded too much uninterested than he meant. It would be nice to have someone, for once, help him with training, but he didn`t quite know how to express that. "Do you have the Osoidougan?"

"Yeah, I do. You too, right?"

"Yes. I`ve managed to master it too."

"Impressive. How about we spar so I can see your abilities in a fight?"

"Sure. Let`s do that..."

They ended up sparring 15 times, in which Shinsui won 9 times and Itaru won 5 times. He was impressed by the older boy`s strength, and now wanted him to help in his training more than ever. When they finished, it was already late, maybe even later than the curfew Itaru`s parents had strictly specified.

"I have to go now." Itaru said, getting up bluntly and taking all the items from the ground with Shinsui`s help. "My parents ask me to be home around this hour."

"Ah, that`s a shame. If you want, I can help you train again tomorrow. Only if you want, of course."

"Of course I do! Please, let`s do this again." Itaru pleaded.

"It`s a promise, then! Tomorrow, here, same hour." Shinsui said, turning around and waving. "Bye-bye, Itaru! See you tomorrow!"

Itaru slowly did the same, with a smile lightning up his face.

***

The next day, when Itaru came to the forest, Shinsui was already there waiting, his foot leaned against one of the threes and his eyes closed. He looked, at the same time, calm and stressed out about something. Itaru held the dart boards, shuriken and kunai closer to his chest, making sure the weapons wouldn`t end up cutting him and approached the older boy silently.

"Ah, Itaru. You`re here." Shinsui said, opening his eyes and smiling.

"I`m late?"

"Ah, no, no, don`t worry about that! You`re on time, actually. I`m the one who`s too early..." Awkward silence filled the space between them until Shinsui looked at what Itaru had brought. "You brought kunai too? Nice."

Itaru went towards one of the trees to put the dart board over it, but was stopped by Shinsui before he had the chance to.

"Oh, actually... I wanted to show you something before this." he said.

"What is it?"

"Follow me, I`ll show you."

And so, Itaru followed Shinsui as both of them came deeper into the forest. He had never been that distant from his home, but for some reason, he trusted that boy. Something about him gave Itaru a feeling of safeness and comfort, similar to when he was with his parents and younger brother. Maybe they really where the same, like Shinsui had said yesterday. Natural-born geniuses. As those kinds of thoughts welled up on his head in the way, he also noted that the more they walked, the more different types of plants appeared in their ways, some with flowers too. Walking on that place was kind of difficult, but Itaru didn`t stop for an instant, Shinsui in front of him. Then they got to a place where there were last plants than the rest of the forest. It seemed like a dead end, as everything in front was a wall of rocks with some leaves over it. Had SHinsui gone to the wrong place.

"Well, here we are."

"But what did you want to show me?"

Shinsui crouched down next to the rock wall and gently pulled the leaves up, revealing a hole that was so dark, it was impossible to see anything inside, so Itaru assumed it was deep inside there. Since when had Shinsui discovered that place? And was he, and now Itaru too, the only ones who knew about that place?

"Do you want to come in, or do I come in first?" Shinsui asked him.

"I`ll go."

Itaru crouched down and proceeded to crawl towards the hole. When he was already midways inside, darkness bathed his body, and when he was fully inside, Itaru felt like he was blind. The cave was indeed absent of any light, and only by moving his hands randomly he could feel the wall. Shortly after, though, a faint light ignited next to where he previously was and enabled him to see Shinsui`s smiling face lightened up by a candle-lighter. He then walked towards the wall and ignited the candles attached to them, making the room much better. Itaru noticed there weren`t many things there, just a simple table with two chairs and some books.

"This is my secret place. I come here whenever I need to cool off." Shinsui said humbly and sat down on the chair. "My Mother was the one who showed me this cave the first time, and now I`m showing it to you. What do you think?"

"This place is... fantastic, Shinsui…" Itaru was truly baffled after seeing that. "But... why would you show me this? Isn`t it like a... sacred place?" Sacred may have been an overstatement, but he wasn`t sure of another word that could explain that.

"Sacred? Ahaha, no, no! You got it wrong!" Shinsui put his hand inside his clothes and took out a silver necklace wrapped around his neck. "In my family, we have this kind of tradition based on trust. This necklace was also given to me by my Mother some years ago."

"You two seem really close." 

"I guess... you could say so. Kinda, now." He threw the necklace back into his clothes. "Anyway... we should go now, right? After all, we have some training to do, friend."

Itaru nodded. For the first time, now he had a true friend.


	4. Chapter 3: That Is My Ninja Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru joins the Academy, and shortly after, meets someone new.

Itaru`s Father always said shinobi were strong. Or, at least, they were supposed to be strong. Their ideologies differed in countless points, but in that one, they intertwined like strands of wool being knitted. Itaru Uchiyama was 6 years old, and he believed that ninjas had to be strong to protect everything that was precious to them. 6 years old. Everyone knew what that age meant: 6 years of life meant that he would finally get to go to the Academy. Entering the Academy meant one more step towards his life objective. During those months from before, his bond with Shinsui had become really strong, and like that, he had learned that the 8-years old was already a Genin. He had graduated from the Academy at age 7, 5 years earlier than what was considered normal. Itaru thought of Shinsui as a role-model, and wanted to project his own image on him. 

"So when I call your names, I want you to tell the class a little bit about yourselves." Was what the teacher had said during the first day.

Itaru wasn`t sure what to say, and he tried to come up with something while the other students told things about themselves. They talked with confidence and naturality as they said things such as "I want to do cool missions" and "I want to be a cute ninja". 

"Itaru Uchiyama." his teacher then said.

"I..." Itaru started, unsure of what to say. Differently of most there, he had two identities: his true one and the one everyone wanted him to be. Which one should he use there? "I..."

Everyone was looking, with confused and curious expressions.

"I`m Itaru… Uchiyama." Even though his surname had already been stated and everyone with little knowledge about Soragakure`s clans could recognize him as an Uchiyama, some children widened their eyes. "I`ve just turned 6 years old... and I have a younger brother that is 5 years younger than me. His name is Satsuki..." He decided to stop right there, because if he was going to keep talking about Satsuki, he would be rambling on for days. Plus, that was about _him_. "I hope that here in the Academy I can improve my abilities. Because... training to protect everything I hold dear... that is my ninja way." 

His ninja way, his personal rule, his deepest dream... the name didn`t matter. What mattered is that he would do the impossible to achieve that. After saying it, Itaru wordlessly went towards his chair and sat down, everything so abruptly that the teacher stayed quiet, just like the whole class, and then muttered something and called the next student forwards. 

The next thing after that was a practical class. The teacher had told them not to get nervous, because they wouldn`t be punished for failure and that was only to estimate their level. Itaru thought it was really serious. It was just like his regular training: throwing shuriken and kunai at targets. In less than 4 seconds, all the dart boards were being pierced by the metallic weapons during Itaru`s row. The teacher was absolutely shocked, but Itaru knew that if it was Shinsui doing it, he would have done it even faster. After that, there was a fighting lesson that could have been mistaken as simple playing. Itaru was probably a bit too violent, and he felt bad for it, but none of the classmates that were picked to fight against him even touched him and were in the floor in seconds.

Four months after he had joined the Academy, Itaru had never ever got any grades lower than the maximum grade in all subjects. His parents and teachers were all proud of him, saying he was a prodigy and all that. But, in reality, he thought the Academy was overrated. It was much less than what he had expected. The system of having a maximum grade made him feel claustrophobic, limited. Almost as claustrophobic as during the night on the underground base during the attack of the Four-Tails on the village. During the time he had spent training with Shinsui, he had improved much more than the time he had spent training at the Academy. And the times were much more comfortable, where there was someone actually trying to understand him, instead of everyone just staring at him.

During that afternoon, Itaru found himself again in the forest next to his house, the best place for training. 

It was quiet and tranquil, where he knew nobody was going to disturb him, and it had many places where he could throw his shuriken at. One of the metallic stars had just hit the wood of a nearby tree when he heard a sound that definitely wasn`t a tool like that. It was a human sound, not of a weapon, not of an animal. He had been so immersed in training those days that just that mere sound amused him and he desperately looked around him, eager to hear it more. It echoed again. It was a gasp, now that Itaru was paying attention he identified it. And it was coming from his east, so he was quick to run in that direction.

He found the source quickly. The noises were coming from a bush next to a tree and from where he was, Itaru could grasp the sight of brown hair. Approaching, he used his hands to push the bush away, revealing a girl that seemed to be his age hidden there. She was kneeling, her face buried between her legs and her hands over her head, clutching her long brown hair in a firm hold like he had seen people clasp their weapons last year during the attack that shook the village. And she gasped again. And lifted her head. And their eyes locked. Hers were also dark, but opposed to his, that were pure black, hers were more of a really dark brown. And they shone. It took Itaru some rushed heartbeats to realize it wasn`t her eyes that were shining, and instead, what was in them. Tears slid down her pale cheeks.

"Why do you cry?" Itaru asked, in mild confusion.

"I`m not crying..." the girl replied, with a shaky voice, while wiping her tears. "I`ve seen you in the Academy... but I don`t remember your name."

"I'm Itaru Uchiyama." he said. "And you?"

"Seiho Chimiya."

She got up right after it, revealing she was the same height as him. And Itaru`s eyes almost immediately noticed the bruise on her shoulder, were her dark gray stockings were ripped.

"Who hurt you?" he asked. She seemed surprised.

"N-nobody. I fell." It was a lie, he knew it. But he also knew that people only lied when they felt they were being pushed and wanted to preserve their personal space, so he pretended he believed it. "How old are you?" Changing the subject abruptly to keep him from asking anymore questions. She really didn`t want to talk about it.

"I`m six years old."

"Me too. Do you want to... be friends?"

The question caught him off guard but he concealed his surprise. Itaru knew that within his clan (and maybe even within the whole village) he was both respected and feared. But that was about it. His only true friend was Shinsui.

"I think... yes." He answered because he wasn`t sure, but the idea of agreeing sounded nice. "And what now?"

Seiho turned away and sat at a fallen wood trunk. Itaru stood there awkwardly until he decided to sit near her too and stayed in silence, waiting for her to do something friends did.

"What do you like?" she asked, turning her head to him.

"Training." he answered bluntly. It did sound rude, especially because he wasn`t facing her, so he decided to add something to make himself sound interested in the conversation. Not that he wasn`t. "Ninjutsu, taijutsu and shurikenjutsu. And studying fuuinjutsu and genjutsu to use it when I get older."

"Just that?!" Seiho exclaimed. 

"What else should there be?"

"Well, I don`t know, it depends... I like my family and my friends, flowers, sweet things, birds, reading, playing, drawing... many things!"

"I also like Soragakure. And my clan, too..." He paused and smiled. "Especially my little brother..."

"So you know how to smile!" She gave him a light chuckle. "How old is your brother?"

"He is just one year old, he`s a baby. I like taking care of him, but I can`t spend much time with him because my Father wants me to keep training for when I inherit my clan`s leadership. That`s why I have to train and study so hard."

"I see..." Seiho sighed. "I don`t really like fighting. I don`t want to be a ninja."

"But you have to. Ninjas are heroes! They`re the ones who defend this village. And ninjas are strong, not just physically... ninjas are the ones who suffer to make sure everyone else remains happy. If it weren`t for the ninjas who stopped the rampaging beast last year... we wouldn`t be alive right now!"

Only then he realized he had turned his had and was staring deep into her eyes. He confirmed: they were indeed not black, just a dark shade of brown that gave the illusion they were black. And because of that, he could see her shaking pupils.

"I`m sorry. I raised my voice, didn`t I?"

"It`s fine... Itaru-kun."

Hearing his name leave her lips shook him for some reason. His heartbeat was rushed. Why?

"If you say so. Thanks... Seiho."

***

Itaru and Seiho were now walking along the empty streets of Soragakure as the sunset dyed the sky a pinkish orange color. They were chatting cheerfully, even though she was the one doing most of the talking, and Itaru wore a smile that was the closest he could get to an actual laugh.

"If you`re in the Academy, we can meet every day!" she said, her eyes shining with glee.

"Well, well, well... look at what we have here!"

The two had been so distracted with each other they didn`t even notice the group of children arriving. They were taller, so Itaru assumed they were a bit older, maybe one year or two. Seiho quivered and hugged his arm. He gently stepped forwards.

"It`s stupid little Seiho! And she has a little boyfriend now to protect her!" screamed one of the girls in the back, and all of them started laughing. Itaru remained serious.

"If you have nothing to talk to these people, let`s go, Seiho." the black-haired boy said, turning his head slightly to look at her. "Let`s not waste our time."

"So who do you think you are?" A boy approached them. He was so tall that Itaru had to lift his head completely to look at him. Had to. "I`ll teach you some lessons so that you know how to treat us!"

He then proceeded to hear Seiho scream his name, frightened. Itaru didn`t even stir at the fist coming toward his face and in the last second, seized the other boy`s arm firmly and glared at his shaking pupils with his own shaking pupils without blinking even once.

"Don`t," he started, his voice sounding berserk despite his spirit being serene. "Ever get near Seiho again." He then turned his gaze to the children behind. "Even if some of you are girls, I don`t care. If you insult her again, I`ll have to make you stop."

"Are you seriously threatening me?!" The boy pulled his arm back the same moment Itaru released (or more like threw) it back to him and staggered backwards holding his arm. Only then Itaru realized he might have been putting too much force onto the grip. "You little prick!"

Behind the boy, the other children were both terrified and surprised. And behind Itaru, Seiho was the one terrified and surprised.

"I was just warming up." The boy proceeded to say. Itaru looked at him. He was tall, so he must have been like twelve years old. Hate was burning on his brown eyes and very spiky light blonde hair. "Now I`ll show you. I`ll make you cry." He then smiled and ran towards Itaru to charge at him, making the 6-years old boy prepare himself to attack too.

But none of the attacks came and Itaru`s vision was obstructed by someone coming from behind him and Seiho. The figure appeared so subtly and quietly that not even Itaru was able to see them coming, and the first thing they did was to lay a kick right on the blonde boy`s face with such strength that blood was spitted. The attacker finally landed in the ground graciously in a squat as the other boy fell on the ground with the impact near the floor stained with fresh blood. The children ran, screaming in total fear now. And then the figure turned around and what Itaru saw was a smiling Shinsui.

"Shinsui." he said, for no reason, just to acknowledge his presence. 

"Itaru." Shinsui said back.

"You didn`t need to come. I could have easily took care of him and all of them myself."

"I know that, it`s true. But it`s nice to get some rest too sometimes, y`know?"

"I-Itaru-kun!" Seiho said, grabbing his arm again.

The boys` attention diverted to the blonde boy, who was using his shaking hands to lift his body from the ground with his angered look obscured by his hair. There was blood around his mouth, dripping from his chin and on his arm, probably due to the fall. Shinsui sighed nonchalantly and approached him. He then placed his foot on the top of the boy`s head, pushing it back to the ground and nullifying his efforts as he screamed.

"Listen here, whoever you are..."

"Kitsuki Asama!" he screamed. "I`m Kitsuki Asama!"

"Kitsuki, or whatever your name is, I really don`t care..." Shinsui continued, smug. "Don`t bully people, anymore, will you?" He pressed his foot against the boy`s head more, triggering some squeals out of him. "For your sake and for mine, too. It would be deeply appreciated."

Finally taking his foot out of his head, Shinsui turned around and approached the casual Itaru and the shocked Seiho again. Kitsuki finally got up, his hand covering his swollen, bleeding lips and cheek, with hate burning on his eyes once again, utterly directed at the two Uchiyama boys. At first, it looked like he was preparing to charge against them once again, and Itaru got in his fighting stance, but right after it, Shinsui turned back around to face him. Kitsuki`s face contracted in pure terror. Itaru was unsure of what had happened at first, but then he figured it could only be one thing: the Osoidougan.

"T-that... t-that is...!" the blonde struggled to speak, holding a trembling pointed finger to Shinsui.

"I have that too." Itaru didn`t hesitate to activate his.

"You... you two..." Kitsuki retreated a few steps. "You`re both aberrations!" He then ran away until none of them could still grasp his image.

Itaru deactivated his Osoidougan with a heavy feeling on his chest. He knew what people thought of his clan, of him. But knowing and experiencing were two different things, and up until that moment, he just knew and had never really experienced. Aberration. That word that had been directed at him and held a meaning he would never put near a human being hurt just like an actual physical attack. People hated the Uchiyama. It was like that since the start, and it would be like that forever. Unless...

"Are you two okay there?" Shinsui asked, deactivating his Osoidougan too.

"Y-yeah, I`m fine!" Seiho said shyly, smiling to Itaru. It was a genuine smile. She wasn`t scared of him, she didn`t think of him as an aberration. "Thanks for this... I have to go now... b-bye!"

With those few words, she left. A small smile appeared on Itaru`s lips. As long as there were people who believed... the fate of the Uchiyama could change. Yes... he would break that curse placed upon all of them. Not alone. Along with the people he cared for.

"So, who is she?" Shinsui asked, with the comforting smile he always wore.

"Her name is Seiho. I met her in the forest when I was training with shuriken." 

"I`m glad to see you`re making friends. Other than me, you know."

"I guess so. I wonder why..." He stopped before finishing the phrase. He could ask Seiho about that later. "No, nothing."

"And how has life at the Academy been?" Shinsui asked as the two of them walked back home. Itaru looked down and stayed quiet. "Hey? Are you there? Earth to Itaru, hello?"

"It`s that..." He stopped walking and clenched his hands into fists. Why was it so hard to describe the feelings inside of him, when everyone else could do it so easily? He was supposed to be able to do it too. He was supposed to be able to do everything... "I don`t know... it`s nothing, I... don`t know how to explain it. This will probably sound rude and arrogant... butI think that... the Academy is slowing me down. It`s been just four months, but I already want to graduate. I can become a Genin, can`t I? I can`t wait more 6 years. You... you graduated earlier, right? Maybe they`ll let me do it too..."

"Well, there`s a chance. They only do that to the most exceptional of prodigies. And you fit that description exactly, Itaru. Like I said... you remind me of myself on your age." he said and put his hand on Itaru`s shoulder. "If you ever need to talk, I`m here. I`ll listen and I won`t judge you."

"Thanks... thank you so much. I will..."

***

"Itaru, your teacher told us about our grades. We are very proud of you... as always."

6 months have passed since Itaru had first gone to the Academy. Right now him and his family were sitting on the dining table, all of them eating soup. Satsuki was pretty much splashing his soup, so Etsu had to give it to him herself. And about what his Father had said... Itaru merely nodded and kept eating his soup silently.

"Do you have any comrades there already?"

Itaru`s Father never used the word "friends". Friends meant emotions and emotions meant weakness. Itaru disagreed, but never made it open.

"There, just Seiho Chimiya."

"You`re also close to Shinsui, yes? I`ve seen you training with him." Etsu said while giving more soup to Satsuki.

Again, he only nodded.

"Shinsui of the Waterstorm…" Kenshin mumbled. Even though he was just 8 years old, Shinsui had recently been promoted to Chuunin and already mastered his default nature transformation, Water Release, and was in the way of mastering Lightning Release too. Using both of his powers in battle, he was extremely strong, and it was only natural he had received that nickname. "He is two years older than you, right, Itaru?" 

"Yeah, he is..." 

"I`m glad you`re meeting new people, Itaru. I`ve talked to Shinsui one time or two, and he`s a pretty gentle boy. He told me he sees you just like a younger brother."

A younger brother... Itaru`s gaze instinctively turned to Satsuki, who was slamming his hands against the bowl of soup and making it overflow on the table while finding it amusingly funny. He smiled.

"That`s fitting..." he whispered to nobody in particular, just to himself. "Because I see him just like an older brother."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES FINALLY FINISHED THAT. THIS WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST CHAPTERS TO WRITE OOF.  
> AND I KNOW YOU DON`T TRUST SHINSUI YET, SO I WONDER IF YOUR OPINION ON HIM HAS CHANGED A BIT WITH THAT ENDING...……… EVEN THOUGH IT MAY NOT BE TRUE. YAY HOPE YOU LIKED IT XD


	5. Chapter 4: Team 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru finally is put in a Genin team.

Not all teachers from the Academy liked Itaru Uchiyama, but all of them had to agree he was a brilliant ninja. Perhaps even the most exceptional student the Academy had ever met, along with Shinsui Uchiyama. And in times like those, where Soragakure was still vulnerable ever since the attack of the Four-Tails, the village needed as many ninjas as possible, so when Itaru was seven years old, he was officially a Genin. Shinsui had told him before that in the graduation exams, they normally picked one jutsu, and if the person could do it, they were a Genin, as simple as that. So, after that, both of them started practicing new jutsus and learning even more every day, so that he could be as prepared as possible for the great day.

Itaru left the Academy with a Soragakure bandana shining on his forehead. With all those people coming and going back, he couldn`t spot or hear his family at first, but then a high pitched voice rang through the crowd:

"Niiiiii!"

He immediately ran on the direction the sound came from and happily saw his family waiting for him there. His 2-years old brother was holding his Mother`s hand, but as soon as he saw him, Satsuki let go of her hand and started quickly toddling towards him.

"Nii!" Etsu and Itaru had tried their best to make Satsuki call the boy 'Onii-san', but since his talking skills weren`t developed enough, he just said 'nii' instead. Not that Itaru cared, he was happy his younger brother loved him too.

"Be careful, Satsuki," Etsu said.

Right after that, Satsuki tripped down, but Itaru`s brotherly instincts made him kneel at the right time to grab the toddler before he hit the ground. Satsuki smiled and hugged Itaru, who returned the hug.

"Woah there! Don`t try to rush things, Satsuki." Itaru said, ironically. He was the one who wanted to rush becoming a Genin. But he wanted Satsuki`s life to be different from his, he wanted Satsuki to be as happy as a human being could be.

"So, everything went out alright, Itaru?" Etsu said, smiling.

"Of course it went. My son is a prodigy." Kenshin answered right after.

"Yeah... the test was easy." Itaru said to his mother while Satsuki jumped on him and laughed. "But I`m the only one of around my age to pass."

Everyone else was around twelve years old. People normally became Genin at that age, but just like Shinsui had said, only the prodigies like the two of them had the chance to pass at a younger age. It made him wonder how old would Satsuki be when he finally passed...

"Candy! Candy!" the toddler yelled, pointing at the store on the street behind them and still desperately tugging at his older brother`s shirt. "I... want!"

"Well, I do have money." Itaru said, taking out some ryo from his pocket. "I`ll go buy him some candy, we`ll be back soon!"

And so Itaru took Satsuki`s hand and the two boys walked towards the candy store. It was kind of hard to get near, since there were many people on the way and they could barely even see the store. Probably due to the graduation exam, Itaru thought. And he was about to tell Satsuki to stay close to him when he realized both his hands were empty. And then he spotted his brother right in front of him, in the middle of the crowd.

"Satsuki! Satsuki, wait!" he called as he made his way through the mob, pushing people and avoiding being hit. "Satsuki, hey!"

After a few time he finally managed to get to an area that was less crowded. Satsuki was right in front of him, and he was about to take his hand again, when--

"Ow!"

Satsuki had ran face-first into someone. The little boy staggered back and fell sitting.

"Satsuki! Are you okay?" 

Itaru ran towards him and kneeled next to his little brother, helping him get up again. At least he wasn`t really hurt.

"I`m really sorry, I--" As soon as Itaru lifted his head to look up at the person, he froze in the spot. Not just because he recognized him, but because those dark, empty eyes made all his movements cease.

The man from the funeral.

"Don`t worry about that. It is alright," he said, and then smiled. "Itaru Uchiyama, right? It is my pleasure to meet you. My name is Fudou Murano." 

Fudou extended his hand, and only after a few seconds Itaru was able to get up and give him a handshake with his hands trembling. There was something evil about that man. Itaru couldn`t exactly sense what, but it was like darkness, pure wickedness surrounding him. He wanted to go away, and mainly, take Satsuki away from him. 

"Your little brother?" Fudou said right after, almost like he had read Itaru`s mind. Itaru glanced at Satsuki, noticing the boy was hidden behind him, with only his head visible, along with his big puppy eyes. He tugged at Itaru`s shirt hard.

 _"So you can feel it too..."_  

"What`s his name?"

_"It`s none of your business."_

"It`s Satsuki." Itaru said, putting his hand in front of Satsuki to separate the two. "Let`s go, Satsuki. Let`s buy what you want, because you don`t have time to waste, Mother and Father are waiting for us."

"Ah, wait... Itaru." Fudou said when the two brothers had already turned around. "I want to tell you that I know quite a lot about you. And you truly are an exceptional child... you`re different." He approached Itaru and crouched down so that the two of them were face-to-face. Itaru felt cold sweat running down his back, but he didn`t look away, nor did he blink. "For example... now, you are afraid. But you still stare right back at me. Anyone else would have looked away, even if just for a second."

"Excuse me, sir, I really have to go." Fudou then placed his hand over Itaru`s shoulder, keeping him into place. "I`m sorry, sir, I..."

"Tell me, Itaru… would you rather be respected or feared?" 

It didn`t take long for Itaru to realize that man wouldn`t leave him alone until he got what he wanted. So the best choice was to just answer that stupid question and go.

"Respected," he said without hesitating. "A leader that is feared is not a leader, they are a tyrant."

Fudou smiled. Everything about his smile was villainous. More sweat ran down Itaru`s back. And then, wordlessly, Fudou got up and left while mumbling something to himself, probably about Itaru`s answer. The boy stayed there, petrified, for a moment, until he felt Satsuki pulling his hand. Satsuki...

"Itaru… who was talking to you?" Itaru heard his Father`s voice. He turned around. It was really his Father.

"He said his name was Fudou Murano."

"Fudou Murano... huh."

***

When Shinsui appeared to meet him that afternoon, he looked much more tired than usual, and something on his countenance looked sad. Itaru wanted to know what had happened, but he felt it would be too rude for him to ask. Even so, he felt guilty leaving Shinsui like that.

"Good work!" Shinsui said, after he successfully did a curve on his shuriken to hit a target. "At this rate, you`ll surpass even me... when I was your age."

"Shinsui, I..." Itaru started, a shuriken still on his hand. "Can we take a little break? There`s something I want to tell you."

"Sure. Here, let`s sit by that tree."

And so they went, and sat down, leaned on the biggest and tallest tree on that area. It felt so refreshing to feel the wind ruffling his hair and cleaning away his sweat, that Itaru closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling even more. Shinsui gave him a bottle of water, and the feeling of the water going down his dry throat felt even better. He was so eager to tell him about the meeting with Fudou earlier that he didn`t even thank Shinsui.

"So, it happened right before I left the Academy before graduating. I went with Satsuki to a store... and I met this man." Itaru made a little pause and saw Shinsui was listening attentively. "He said his name was Fudou Murano."

"Fudou… Murano?"

"Yes... he said he knows a lot about me. He said I`m exceptional... he also asked me if I would rather be respected or feared."

"Itaru… listen here." Shinsui leaned closer to him with a serious and worried expression in his face. "I can`t tell you much yet, but... Fudou Murano is dangerous. He is a really dangerous person. Don`t get near him, please..."

"I won`t. But what does he want with me?"

"I have no idea... but it certainly isn`t something good. If he comes near you again, tell me, alright?" Shinsui slowly got up, and Itaru saw a small pot falling out of his clothes.

Itaru grabbed the fallen white pot and examined it. Painkillers... why did Shinsui need painkillers for?

"You dropped this." he got up too and gave him the pot of painkillers. "Why do you have painkillers?"

"Ah, this?" Shinsui took it from his hand and put it back on his clothes. "Thanks. It`s not for me, it`s for my Mother."

"Your Mother is sick?"

"She contracted a terminal disease... it`s really bad. That`s why I take care of her."

"I`m really sorry to hear that."

"Don`t be, it`s not anyone`s fault. At this point, I`ve already accepted that she is going to die and I can`t do anything to change that..." The look on his face was sad, but Itaru could sense he was telling the truth. "I won`t blame myself or anyone because of that."

"Then why do you buy medicine?"

"Because I at least want her to be comfortable. Death can`t be avoided, so I want her to die a good death, not a painful one. It`s been like this for years, but recently it reached a point where she doesn`t even recognize me anymore and she has to stay bedridden all the time." He then suddenly smiled again. "But let`s talk about you... you don`t know who are your teammates and teacher yet, right?"

"Not yet... but I think I`ll discover it soon."

***

"From now on, the three of you will be my students and all of us will work together. I`ll instruct you on many different kinds of missions and do my best to help you in any kind of thing." said the man standing in front of Itaru, who was sitting on the ground. "But, for that, you will have to work together too."

His name was Yakumo Toragetsu. He was the Jounin chosen to lead the three-man cell composed of Itaru and two other recently-graduated Genin.

"To hell with this teamwork..." the Genin sitting on Itaru`s left side mumbled so that Yakumo wouldn`t hear him.

Kitsuki Asama, Itaru hadn`t forgotten his name since that day. He was the boy who used to torment Seiho during their Academy days. Itaru still wanted to punch him on the face for that, but he knew it would just trigger even more problems and destroy the team. And if he was going to be on that team for a while, he wanted the experience to be the best, or at least less horrible.

"You want someone to work together with a member from the disgraced clan that almost destroyed the village? Sure, it`ll work..." he mumbled again.

"Ahh, c`mon, you... you`ve been whispering things since we`ve arrived here! Can`t you shut your mouth for one minute?" a girl screamed in Itaru`s right side.

Her name was Sachiko Uzumaki. She was around the same age as Kitsuki, and came from Uzushiogakure, a village destroyed by a war. Her clan had then migrated to different parts of the world.

"Why don`t _you_ shut yours instead, you outsider? You think you can come to our village as a refugee and start giving your opinions about our concerns?" Kitsuki retorted, in the same aggressive tone. "And I`ve got to say... ever since school, I`ve found that red hair of yours horrible!"

"Calling me a outsider, refugee or whatever and saying my hair is horrible won`t affect on me! Moron!"

"You two... stop fighting. Calm down."

Yakumo`s attempts of stopping the fight hadn't been anywhere near useful, and the two Genin kept glaring at each other in rage.

"You know... I think the only why you`re defending that freak over there," He pointed to Itaru without even bothering to glance at him. "Is because you have a crush on him! Only a freak attracts another freak!"

"What the hell even is that?!" Sachiko blushed and her face became almost as red as her hair. Itaru couldn`t make out if it was due to embarrassment or rage, probably a mix of the two. "Itaru is a 7-years old child! I`m 13 years old! That`s just weird and overall bad!"

"Ha, now you`re all red!"

That childish discussion was too much for Itaru to handle and his head was already aching. A sigh left his lips as he got up, and, ignoring Kitsuki`s insults towards him, stared at Yakumo.

"From what I know, the official missions start only tomorrow, correct?"

"Correct..." Yakumo replied, in the same mood as Itaru, probably.

"In this case, excuse me."

"Everyone... dismissed. Remember that tomorrow we will start the missions, so make sure to not be late."

***

Itaru was now walking down the streets of Soragakure with Seiho by his side. Seiho was still in the Academy, she still had much to learn. Just a few days ago, he was also there, both of them in the same classroom. Remembering that gave Itaru a good feeling of nostalgia.

Soragakure was divided in many districts for the clans. The biggest clans had biggest districts while the small clans normally had just one household. And Seiho`s house was right after the Uchiyama district, so the two of them could go together.

"You didn`t do any missions today, right?" Seiho asked him in the way.

"No, the missions start tomorrow. Today was basically just presentations, for us to know each other."

"And who are your teammates? Are they nice?"

"One of them is Kitsuki Asama." Just that statement answered both questions.

"Kitsuki… Asama?" Seiho looked confused.

"Those children that attacked us when I met you... he is the blonde one." Her eyes then widened for an instant as she remembered. "The other one is a girl called Sachiko Uzumaki. She is actually nice."

"I see... oh, and how is your little brother?"

"Satsuki`s been fine. He grew up really fast... I hope that the clan also accepts him, because if anything ever happens to me... he will be the heir." Itaru swallowed after realizing what he had said. "I`m sorry for that... forget what I said."

"Alright... if that`s what you want..."

And then they wordlessly exchanged goodbyes and each one of them went to their own house.

***

The enemy was surrounded. He was then attacked by one of Itaru`s clones, and while fighting it, the rest of the clones attacked too, and he found himself with no means of escaping.

_"Now."_

Itaru jumped down from the tree where he was, but as soon as his feet hit the ground, his body got shoved away abruptly.

"Out of the way, Uchiyama!" Kitsuki screamed, running in the direction of the enemy and holding his sharp kunai. 

Right after it, he jumped in the direction of the enemy, but one of Itaru`s clones got thrown right in his direction and hit him. Differently from the clone, Kitsuki didn`t just disappear in midair and fell backwards on the ground. The now-free enemy, in sheer desperation, lifted his sword and was about to deliver the mortal attack when he spotted a flying kunai coming in his direction and was force to deviate the movement of the blade to repel it. And, just like Itaru had planned, since he couldn`t put his sword in two places at the same time, there was a breach during that time, and Sachiko delivered him a punch on the face, and Itaru finished him with a kick on the face too.

"That was really good," said Yakumo as he checked the state of the unconscious enemy on the floor.

"And now, you!" Sachiko pushed down Kitsuki, who was trying to get up, making him fall again. "Aren`t you going to thank Itaru? Had it not been for him, you`d be dead now!"

Kitsuki looked up at Itaru and then looked down again. 

"Thanks," he mumbled, only for Itaru to hear. "Even though I could have done everything myself!" the boy screamed right after.

"You`re welcome." said Itaru, smiling.


	6. Chapter 5: Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team 4 goes on a mission. Also, Itaru takes care of his little brother and a possible new threat is introduced.

By that time, Itaru should have been already used to being part of a team, and so should his teammates. It was true, but one year had passed, Itaru was now 8 years old but he still felt out of place there, maybe because of the age difference, maybe because of the power difference or any other reason. Because every time he goes on a mission, everything feels like a distant dream away from reality, and when he comes back home it feels as if he had just woken up from that dream with even less vivid memories. That`s what being on that team felt like.

"Today, we are going on a mission that`s a bit different from what we have done so far. It`s a little harder." Yakumo had said, and Itaru was focusing on each word, but the things around him were still a bit blurry and his body still felt too relaxed and light, almost like he could go flying. He had used his Osoidougan too much. "Our team was chosen to localize and capture some ninjas in a forest." 

That mission was far beyond the level of Kitsuki and Sachiko, Itaru knew. He wasn`t being arrogant, he was being realistic. So basically, their team hadn`t been assigned that mission, _he_ had been assigned that mission.

"Right now," Yakumo then got up, followed by the Genin. "We should get going."

Weirdly enough, the way to the forest was calm and peaceful, with no discussions or even any word said at all. Itaru glanced at his teammates behind him, only to notice they were not even looking at each other and receiving one "The hell are you looking at, Uchiyama?" from Kitsuki. And then he stopped looking and decided to enjoy the rare silence they had. 

They reached the forest a bit later. It was larger than Itaru expected. It was actually huge, with trees so tall he was sure only people inside the Tsukikage`s Tower would be able to see them. Getting lost there would be extremely easy, but Itaru`s surviving skills were pretty advanced if that happened, which it most likely wouldn`t. The four of them came inside the place right after.

"Stay attentive to your surroundings," their Jounin sensei made sure to remind them many times as they followed him deeper into the forest and everything around Itaru turned green.

"Yakumo-sensei, can you give us a description of the ninjas we are after?" Itaru asked matter-of-factly.

"There are three of them, two men and one women, and they`re missing-nin from Sora. They wear masks and normally attack all together, so be careful around. That`s everything we know."

Missing-nin from Sora. Itaru quickly assumed that it could mean they had experience in Fuuinjutsu, as several ninjas from their village did, and it was known for that. There was also a high chance they had either Wind Release or Lightning Release as their nature type of chakra, at least. Wind was strong against Lightning, his own nature type, but weak against Fire, Kitsuki`s nature type. And Lightning was strong against Earth and weak against Wind. So that meant that in any of those situations, he wouldn`t be of too much use for the team. If only he was like Shinsui and had mastered more than one nature type... but that wasn`t the time to think about that. Sachiko`s nature type was Wind, so if one of them had Lightning release, she would be able to attack them mainly. And Yakumo had both Wind and Fire, so he would be able to fight against the two if his assumptions were right.

"In this case, assuming one of them knows Wind Release and the other one knows Lightning Release, Kitsuki and Sachiko would be able to fight them, respectively." he said after a short time.

"Why me?! Why don`t _you_ go?" Kitsuki growled behind him.

"My chakra has an affinity towards Lightning Release. Lightning is weak against Wind, and if my attacks and the person who uses Lightning`s are of the same level, they will simply cancel each other out. I`m this situation, I would be just useless." Itaru explained quickly. "But that is my assumption. If they use Earth Release, I`ll be able to fight them."

"You`re screwing my head up, you know?! You just want to show off!"

"Itaru-kun, what is the strategy you created?" Yakumo asked him.

"This forest is way too big. We would have more chances of finding them if we split up and went to investigate separately."

"W-what the hell... we`re going alone?" Kitsuki stammered.

"What, are you afraid?" Sachiko shot back to him with laughter.

"No, of course I`m not! I just think it`s not the best strategy ever!"

"Call it whatever you want... you don`t want to be alone here."

"In this case, we cold go in pairs then." Yakumo said. "I will go with Sachiko and Kitsuki and Itaru will go together. Is this alright?"

Itaru heard Kitsuki sigh loudly. He himself wanted to sigh. That would decreased their chance of finding the ninjas by half, but he didn`t complain or say anything. At least it was a good moment for him and Kitsuki to train their teamwork.

***

"There are footsteps going this way," Itaru noted to himself while tracing his fingers on the mark on the ground. "That means we have to keep going this way."

He and Kitsuki had been together investigating the area for such a long time, and yet, none of the missing-nin had appeared. There were just those kind of eventual signs. Itaru looked up to see the sky had a pinkish orange color to it, it was already afternoon...

"This is ridiculous. It`s clear we won`t find anything here! Whoever came here either already left or died somehow!" Kitsuki complained, kicking stones next to Itaru.

"It`s our job to discover what happened." The black-haired boy got up and continued walking calmly. "Let`s go."

"We`ll just get lost here! And then die! I`m not going anymore!"

"We won`t get lost. I`m marking our way," Itaru pointed to a tree which had a red sign pointing to the direction they were coming from on it. "If we get lost, we can just follow the direction of the signs."

Kitsuki opened his mouth, but realizing he had no arguments against that, closed it again and the two boys kept going forward. Some time later, eventually, Itaru noticed they were in the border of a cliff.

"See?! There`s nothing here. We`re just losing our time!"

Ignoring his partner`s protests, Itaru approached the end of the cliff and looked down. It wasn`t as high as he had expected, it was actually very short and he could see the ground easily, and another cliff on the other side. Basically that place was like an open crack on the forest. When he noticed, Kitsuki was by his side.

"Let`s go down there." Itaru said, and before the blonde could say anything else, grabbed a kunai from his pocket. A rope was tied to its ring on the end, and spinning it above his head, Itaru threw it right on the wall down there. He then took one of his regular kunai and stabbed it on the ground, tying the end of the rope on its own ring.

"You go first."

That could be considered too naïve, but Itaru didn`t hesitate to go first. And Kitsuki, even if reluctantly, followed him right after. The place looked completely desert and the two could feel dust over their feet.

"See... there`s nothing here! I know you want to complete this mission, whatever, and I don't care, but like this, you`re wasting my time t--"

"Kitsuki, watch out!"

Itaru then threw himself in front of Kitsuki, who watched in horror was the Uchiyama was pierced with arrows through every part of his body. Itaru then proceeded to hear his name being screamed in Kitsuki`s voice in a way he had never been before: it wasn`t his surname, and it wasn`t being screamed out of anger either. The moment tears began welling up at the blonde`s eyes, a wooden log pierced by weapons fell at his feet.

"I-Itaru?!"

"I`m here. Watch out, Kitsuki!" Itaru said, running towards his side.

"The Substitution Jutsu is such a simple jutsu, but so useful too... right?" Said a voice over them.

"Who is there? Show yourself." Itaru grabbed one of his kunai and threw the other one to Kitsuki.

As soon as he said that, three people jumped down to where they were. Two men and one woman, all of them wearing masks and no forehead protectors whatsoever. They had found them, Itaru was sure it was them. Kitsuki let out a little gasp behind him.

"I am Itaru Uchiyama from Soragakure. I`ll give you the chance to come back with me peacefully, or else I`ll have to resort to actual violence."

The three glanced at each other, and a few seconds later, with mutual concern, charged at the two of them. Itaru lifted his kunai, prepared to the fight like always.

***

"I would like to congratulate you all after this mission. Especially you, Itaru." Was what his teacher had said in their way back to Soragakure.

Itaru, as expected, had managed to defeat the three enemies. His strength wasn`t much well-known outside of Soragakure or by missing-nin, so he relied mainly on the fact that they were underestimating him. And then, after they realized his power, pressuring them with attacks to make them go all out and waste all their chakra at once was his chosen strategy.

"Kitsuki helped me too."

"What?!" The blonde shoved his head on Itaru`s direction. "No, I didn`t! I mean, I did, of course!"

"I`m sure you didn`t, and Itaru`s saying that just to be polite." Sachiko remarked with a snicker. "You probably stayed hidden the whole fight, scaredy-cat! I mean, you almost peed your pants when me and Yakumo-sensei arrived!"

"Where did you even take that from?! I wasn`t scared, are you so stupid you couldn`t even identify my battle stance?!"

"Battle stance?! Please!"

Itaru then heard as the two of them continued their usual argument with a smile on his face. A smile because even if just a little, that day`s mission had felt less like a dream and more like a reality. Would it be like that from now on, or would it always just be like a lie?

"Hey... Uchiyama."

The words came from Kitsuki, who was right on his side, whispering it to him.

"Yes?"

"Earlier today... when you used the Substitution Jutsu...when you saved me."

"It`s fine, you don`t have to thank me."

"I wasn`t planning to! I just wanted to say... I`ll make it up to you. I`ll show you that _I_ can save you too, heard this, Itaru Uchiyama?!"

Itaru chuckled lightly.

"Hey... what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing... thanks."

He and Kitsuki had a bond now. A bond that he wouldn`t like to break.

***

Itaru examined each kanji written on the soft, delicate pages of paper in the book he was reading. Being teached how to read and write from such a young age, and being already 8 years old, he was able to read most of the words that were presented to him normally on books or any written thing. And he was always striving to learn more. Their classes were mostly about subjects that were crucial to a ninja, but Shinsui sometimes teached him about reading and written kanji. The title of the book was "Kekkei Genkai", and it had over two hundred pages describing many kekkei genkai, but since Itaru had been reading it for a while and chose to resume it during that starry night, he was somewhere between the first hundred of pages. Turning on the page, he was not too surprised to see "Osoidougan" written in red letters with a picture depicting an eye with a gray sclera and a red iris.

"Osoidougan..." he whispered gently as a breeze blew past him.

He knew everything that was written there. Actually, he knew most of the things that were written about a great number of the kekkei genkai listed in that book, but reading and learning were his passion, and so, he kept on. But then, on the last page talking about his doujutsu, the words "Koukyuu Osoidougan" were written in the end of the page in red letters, a bit smaller than the first red ones. He knew about that eye. It was a variation of his own. Differently from the Osoidougan, that could be awakened when one discovered their deepest dream, the Koukyuu Osoidougan could be awakened in two ways: either when the user achieved said dream or when they failed it somehow. Itaru`s Father possessed the Koukyuu Osoidougan, having awakened it as soon as he was named head of the Uchiyama clan.

"Nii-san!"

A childish voice broke his thoughts. He turned around to see his younger brother, Satsuki, running on his direction and smiled. 

"Hey, Satsuki."

"You`re reading!" Satsuki exclaimed and sat next to him on the staircase that led to the door of their house. "I can read too! I know maaany kanji!"

"Mother and Father are teaching you, aren`t them?"

"Yeah!" Satsuki grabbed a side of the book and pulled it to his side. "This is hard, Nii-san! Not even I can read!"

"But you can recognize the kekkei genkai, right?"

"Of course! It`s the Osoidougan of our clan!" Satsuki started matter-of-factly, proud of himself.

"How smart... how about those three here?" Itaru pointed to the cover of the book, where the a Sharingan with three tomoe and a Byakugan with black veins under it where placed on the sides of the book, with a Rinnegan right in the middle.

"Hmm..." Satsuki examined the cover for a while. "I think that the name of the red one is Red Tomoe Eye. The white one is the White Eye With Black... Roots. And the purple one is the Purple Ring Eye!"

Itaru couldn`t hold his laughter at that, and the younger boy just stared at him weirdly.

"That`s close, Satsuki. Those are the Three Great Doujutsu... the red one is the Sharingan, the white one is the Byakugan and the 'Purple Ring Eye' is the Rinnegan." he corrected gently to not hurt his brother.

"Ah, yeah, I knew that! Father told me about it, but... I forgot right after... he told me you memorize everything he teaches you always, Nii-san. I wish I was smart like you..." Satsuki said with sadness in his eyes.

"Don`t be sad, I`m sure you`ll become as smart as me soon. I know that you`ll surpass me one day, Satsuki."

"No way... you`re one of the smartest people _in the world_! How am I gonna surpass you?"

"I`m not sure yet... but the question is, I`m a realist. That means that I`m normally too attached to facts and what`s written in books. You, Satsuki... you are more of an optimist. That makes you unique, because you can adapt to pretty much all situations... and differently from people like me, you actually get to enjoy life and worry less."

Satsuki was staring at Itaru with his big black eyes and paying all attention he could. He was trying to process everything he was hearing, even though being just 3 years old didn`t help. In the end, Itaru just smiled at him and patted his head, ruffling his hair a little.

"Itaru. You`re reading outside?"

"Dad!" Satsuki screamed happily and ran over to the man. "Nii-san was teaching me about the book his reading!"

"Nice. Itaru, why don`t you come inside? It`s cold out there, and it`s also too late."

"Yes, you`re right, Father." Itaru then got up. "I`m coming inside then."

***

Fudou`s feet stepped out of the dark corridor the moment he came inside the bright room in front of it. The room was white with many lamps on the ceiling and some bookshelves on the walls. On his right side was a wooden table with a man that had long back hair standing next to it with his back to Fudou. None of them said anything. They just stood there.

"It`s already been one minute and you still haven`t complained about anything. How peculiar," said the man, turning his head to look at Fudou. His skin was so pale it was almost paper-white, contrasting with his hair and eyes, which were charcoal-black. His name was Tenmaru, and there was a smile, not an innocent one, on his face.

"Even though I hate this place, it`s the less risky option. We can`t meet in the village, where the Second is watching our very movements." Fudou approached Tenmaru, who turned his attention back to whatever he was writing on a paper in the table. "It`s already been three years. I feel like, any time now, Shou will give his position to Hachirouta."

"Be more hopeful. Did you forget I was Shou-sensei`s favorite student? I know everything about him. And I know that if you just insist a little, he`ll give in."

Fudou snorted.

"It seems that you haven`t had much contact with him now. He`s gotten much more stubborn and he`s not that naïve and gullible anymore. If the Tsukikage changes, I cant guarantee that Hashi will be as prosperous as it is now, and Hachirouta may even disapprove of it and disband it. Then everything is over."

"You`re such a pessimist..." Tenmaru laughed somberly. "But it`s true. If Hachirouta Katsuragi becomes the Tsukikage, then you`ll most likely lose your title of the Tsukikage`s right-hand man, and so, a great part of your authority. And assuming the fruit is not much different from the tree, Hachirouta`s reign will be your fall."

As much as Fudou hated to admit, it was all true.

"Takashi stayed as Tsukikage for only one year, but during this year, Hashi suffered an incredible amount of losses. He preferred the regular Anbu over Hashi, and we were running out of supplies, especially weapons. And because of that, almost half of the members died, since we also didn`t have any medicine, and I had to hide their deaths from the village, or else Takashi would disband Hashi. I also had to hide the major part of the missions we did."

"I know that. Basically, the closer you are to the Tsukikage, the closer you are to achieve your dream. Knowing that Shou has you as his right-hand man, he seems to be neutral towards Hashi and you can easily manipulate him... we have to do everything in our power to keep him as the Tsukikage."

It annoyed Fudou a little to hear that man including himself on his own plans, but after all, they were allies.

"We will." He turned around and had already started to leave, when he heard Tenmaru`s voice calling him again.

"I actually had one more thing to tell you."

Fudou turned back around, and right after, Tenmaru turned to him, with a small photo being held between his index and middle finger. A photo of Itaru Uchiyama.

"What is that?" The leader of Hashi asked, masking his tension. How did that man have a photo of Itaru Uchiyama? What did he know, exactly?

"You know what it is. Doesn`t the name Itaru Uchiyama sound familiar?" Tenmaru asked, pure cynicism in his voice.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You can keep pretending you don`t understand, but I know. I know you want this little boy to join your Hashi... interesting. It`d be good to know your interest on him."

Fudou said nothing. Sweat ran down his face.

"Well, I guess it`s none of my business, anyway." Tenmaru carelessly threw the picture on the trash can near his table. "I just wanted to let you know that I`ll help with him if you want. We`re allies, after all."

"Tenmaru," Fudou finally said after some silence, even though they never used names to refer to each other. "What do you want?"

"What?" There was a malevolent grin on his face. He was the one feigning ignorance now, but the difference was that he wasn`t even trying to hide it.

"What do you want? What is your objective?"

"You seem like you don`t quite trust me yet. I`ve told you... I`m helping you because I want to."

"I`m not talking about that! I`m talking, in general... what do you want?"

Several moments passed and the tension triggered by the silence grew even larger between them. Until Tenmaru lowered his head, his onyx bangs covering his eyes and leaving only his grin visible.

"I think that... if you have the right to maintain your secrets, then I have the right to keep my own too."

That was enough. 

Fudou left the room wordlessly.

Tenmaru didn`t stop him.


	7. Chapter 6: The Bond That Was Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first time, Itaru realizes what real pain feels like.

The next day, there was another mission, and naturally, Itaru got excited. He wanted to discover more about that bond he and Kitsuki had now. He wanted to see if it could grow, not as much as his bond with Shinsui, but maybe a bit less. The only reason why he was like that was because, during those eight years of life he had, the only bonds he had created with people from the exterior, not his family, were his bonds with Shinsui, Seiho, and now Kitsuki. So when he arrived at the meeting place, he made sure to come a bit late to meet Kitsuki. He arrived with a smile on his face.

"Hello." he said to them kindly, looking at the blonde boy.

"Hello, Itaru. Now that everyone is here, I`ll explain the mission." Yakumo started speaking in the same tone as always. "Our mission is to escort a merchant transporting gold to the Land of Fire. It`s much easier than the previous one we had, since I thought it would be good for you to take a break."

Itaru didn`t mind if it was a hard or easy mission. What he wanted was to be able to spend more time with his teammates. Or friends. He couldn`t know what they thought of him as, and not even he was sure what he thought of them as, since he was still confused, but spending time with them would help him understand his feelings better.

***

Escorting was considered a boring mission between everyone else, Itaru had noted. He could understand why they thought that way, even though it was a selfish way of thinking. Walking under that boiling hot sun, the boy felt good about himself, because he was helping, and he loved to help. He loved to be useful. In contrast, Kitsuki looked clearly annoyed at all that and Sachiko looked annoyed at _him_.

"I swear, as time passes, more young people graduate prematurely," the old man murmured under his breath, referring to Itaru, not in a mocking tone, but in a surprised one.

He was the merchant that they were escorting. He looked like a simple man, wearing normal clothes. Behind him were Kitsuki and Sachiko, pushing a heavy wagon with packs full of gold in dust inside them. In his right side, was Itaru, and in his left was Yakumo. They were all walking down a road that connected the Land of Moon to the Land of Fire. The countries` villages, Soragakure and Konohagakure, weren`t exactly allies, but they definitely weren`t enemies either and so, some people liked to go there and try to sell their products. Their mission was the escort one of them, and then later, another group would be sent to escort him back.

"Yakumo-sensei," Itaru said, almost sheepishly, and stopped walking.

"What is it?" Yakumo asked, and stopped too.

Itaru simply pointed forwards. In front of them was a person, walking on the same path as them, but on the opposite direction, and coming towards their group. They wore a long, clearly oversized, black cape, with a hood so long it not only covered his face, it fell and almost reached the end of his neck. It made them look ridiculous. They were walking in short, small steps, like they knew that it would help increase the tension between all of them there. Itaru felt, he knew, something was wrong with that person. He was sinister and his presence was menacing.

"I`m going." Yakumo said, and walked some steps towards them. "Excuse me... who are you?"

"Oh, me?" The deep, manly voice made Itaru realize they were a man. The man grabbed the edges of his hood softly and threw it back, revealing a simple white mask covering his face, with two holes for the eyes, and being framed by obsidian spiky locks of hair. "I am nobody you should concern yourself about."

And, then, right after that, Itaru saw both Yakumo and the elderly man they were escorting fall to the ground wordlessly and gasped at the sight. However, since they were still breathing, he assumed it could only be a very powerful genjutsu cast by that man, and put his arm over his eyes. 

"You bastard!" he heard Kitsuki yell, and then heard footsteps, initially right behind him, but then they surpassed him.

"Kitsuki, no!" Itaru used the arm that was covering his eyes to grab Kitsuki`s arm before he could charge at the man. "See what he`s just done? He`s dangerous, don`t look at him, or else you`ll fall into his genjutsu too!"

"And haven`t you seen what _I_ have just done? Genjutsu is my specialty, I can just break free like I did now! You aren`t the only good ninja in Sora, Uchiyama!"

Kitsuki then pulled his arm away, and ran towards the masked man in fury. 

"Managing to conquer my genjutsu... I have to admit, you are good." Said the mysterious figure, sounding like he was laughing. "However, I am still much better than that."

Angered even further, Itaru`s blonde teammate threw a kunai on the direction of the man, and in the middle of the way towards his head, it trembled and stopped its course, falling onto the ground.

"What was that? An invisible barrier?!" Kitsuki screamed in fear.

No, it wasn`t an invisible barrier. If it was, then they would have actually been able to hear the sound of the kunai touching the barrier, but it had simply stopped moving in midair, and even stayed in a flying-like state for a few seconds before flying. All of a sudden, then, the man appeared right in front of Itaru, and in less than a second, Itaru`s kunai clashed against his sword. Sword. He didn`t have an sword before. How was it there now? And how was _he_ there? Had he teleported? Itaru, however, brushed those thoughts off and focused on the fight. He managed to keep it up for a rather long time, before the kunai was shoved off his hand brutally, almost cutting it off alongside it.

"Splendid, Itaru Uchiyama. Seriously splendid..." The man pointed his sword right at Itaru`s chest. "However, I expected much more."

Itaru couldn`t make his body move any longer. Was it because of the fatigue? Because he knew that man was far stronger than him? Because even when silent he was intimidating? Because he was focusing only on trying to find a solution for that problem? 

And then his body moved.

Not because he had moved it.

As he fell, Itaru watched Kitsuki getting pierced on the chest by the sword`s blade and blood rushing out of his chest like a crimson waterfall and his scream of pain being muffled by the ringing of his ears and then he fell right next to Itaru and the boy felt like he was dying. He, Itaru, was the one supposed to be in that situation, he, Itaru. Not Kitsuki. But he, Itaru, wasn`t, and Kitsuki was.

"Told... you... I`d..." Kitsuki started, in a whisper, and coughed up blood. "Make it up... to you... Itaru..."

Itaru almost died. Kitsuki was dead. His friend was dead. He was his friend. His _friend_...

"Impulsive brat," the man said, next to them. "I hate this kind of people."

_"Don`t talk about my friend like this..."_

Itaru couldn`t move. He stayed still, thinking just about Kitsuki and their moments together, that were now over.

"Ninjas who let emotions take over cannot analyze a situation properly, which leads to their ultimate demise."

_"He`s dead... because you murdered him."_

"Those people are just scum who do not deserve to be called ninjas."

_"Shut up."_

"But that is the world, Itaru. That is reality. Pain... suffering... if there are strong people, then there must also be weak people. And your friend there was one of those weak people."

That sentence itself brought so much hate into Itaru`s body that there was no way what he wanted to say remained just as a thought, and his feelings burst out in a yell:

"SHUT UP!"

Itaru spit on his shoes.

There was silence after that. Because that man didn`t expect that. Itaru felt good. After that, he was definitely going to die, but it had been worth it. He would do it again. And then, the sword on the older male`s hand disappeared.

"You are a bold one, Itaru Uchiyama... for now, I will let you live. But do not be too cocky because of that... remember that your life is in someone else`s hands."

And then he disappeared. And Itaru just felt empty.

He heard many rushed footsteps coming towards his direction.

He felt someone touching him and pulling him up.

They were wearing an animal mask.

Anbu.

Then he felt fresh water running down his dry throat.

"What happened?" Said the girl holding him with a gentle voice.

_"My friend is dead."_

"A man came. And put everyone under a genjutsu. I forgot to break them free from it... I`m so sorry, I was worthless... I`m sorry..."

Itaru`s vision became gradually blurrier and darker and his head was spinning even more. And then everything went black.

***

The attack of the masked man still felt vivid, and sometimes, Itaru could even still feel as it was happening. Despite the cozy warmth of the mattress he was laid over, and the many thick blankets over him, Itaru`s tremor wouldn`t cease. His whole body was shaking, from his hands to his knees. Hours had passed, but the attack of the masked man still felt too vivid, and whenever Itaru felt as it was happening, he closed his eyes and pulled the blankets surrounding his small body closer. Kitsuki had died. His friend had been murdered right in front of his eyes, because of him, and he hadn`t been able to do anything to stop it.

_"Weak..."_

After that, the merchant man, Yakumo and Sachiko had immediately returned to the village. Itaru had also been brought home. But he didn`t want to do anything in that situation. He wasn`t even hungry and he had stayed in bed, locked in his room ever since he had arrived.

"Is Itaru alright?" He heard the voice of his Father on the other side of the door. He had probably just arrived home, and due to the question, Itaru assumed he knew what had happened. Then why was his tone so natural? 

"He said he doesn`t want to eat anything and went to his room." his mother replied.

"He will be fine. In the life of a shinobi, comrades die in front of you many times. That`s why I brought him to the battlefield four years ago, so that death wouldn`t haunt him."

"But Itaru is just 8 years old... anyone else would be playing with their friends at the Academy at this age."

"That is true, but Itaru is not just 'anyone else'. He is superior. He is mature. Trust me... he will be fine."

His Father`s words pierced his heart. His friend had died... because of him. Because he wasn`t strong enough. Because he still wasn`t strong to the point where he could actually protect somebody. His dream had never felt so distant than at that point. He needed more power, he needed more strength... his body shook in anger at his own weakness. His eyes were burning. His head was aching. His own body was punishing him for his weakness.

"I promise you, Kitsuki..." Itaru mumbled, his eyes red and irritated. "I won`t lose anymore."

***

Itaru naturally placed his kunai on the neck of the man in front of him. 

"Satisfied now?" he said flatly.

Like he had just woken up from the most horrid of nightmares, the man gasped in surprise and awe.

"What... did you say?"

"It was too slow for you to hear, I suppose. Are you satisfied? Or perhaps you want me to do this again, everything faster this time?"

The enemy didn`t need anything more to understand the message, and proceeded to drop his kunai and lift his arms. 

"Good job, Itaru!" screamed a voice. Yakumo`s.

His teacher and his two other teammates came running on his direction and Yakumo started tying up the hands of the man Itaru had captured. Sachiko, as always, was smiling at him, and his other teammate, Muka, had a serious expression on his face. When Kitsuki had died, two years ago, he was replaced by that mysterious-looking boy named Muka who barely said anything or interacted with any of them. He also always found an excuse to not participate greatly in the missions they took part in.

"Well... let`s go back to the village, shall we?"

***

"You`ve improved a lot, Itaru... you`re too good to be just a Genin." Shinsui said, drinking from his water bottle. "You will do the Chuunin Exams this year, won`t you?"

The two boys were sitting against one of the trees on the little forest next to Itaru and Shinsui`s houses. As soon as he had arrived back after the mission, Itaru had come to the place to meet his friend. And then they had started sparring to train. There were two fighting modalities: one with the Osoidougan and the other without the Osoidougan. Itaru and Shinsui had fought forty times in total, twenty times in either modality. And the result was 16 wins for Itaru and 24 for Shinsui.

"I don`t know yet. Yakumo-sensei says I`m too young for it. And he thinks that Sachiko and Muka still have lots to learn..." Itaru replied while Shinsui passed the water bottle to him.

"What? How long is he going to wait for? Two more years? Makes no sense, and your teammates are 15 and 14 years old! It`s already about time, isn`t it?"

"Well, I wouldn`t be able to participate anyway. Sachiko said that she plans on leaving her duties as a ninja right before the exams this year."

The memory of when he had scolded Seiho for thinking of giving up her own duties as a ninja some years ago came vivid on his mind. When Sachiko had told him of her plans, Itaru said nothing, and also thought nothing. He himself had witnessed the horrors of the ninja world, and he could understand anybody who chose to not see those things or feel that pain. 

"It`s so unfair..." Shinsui sighed. 

"How is your Mother?" Itaru asked, changing the subject a bit too bluntly than what he intended to.

"The same as always," his friend replied, his happy expression becoming more somber. "No matter what I do, she really doesn`t recognize me. Every day I feel like her death is closer. But like I said before... everybody dies one day. When it comes, I`ll be ready."

Itaru didn`t know what else to say.

***

Fudou Murano rushed into the Tsukikage`s office, holding a bunch of papers in his right hand. Shou Minami lifted his gaze from the piles of documents in his table to look at his former teammate, waiting for an explanation.

"I was checking the names and faces of the participants of this year`s Chuunin Exams." Fudou threw the papers over the Tsukikage`s table. "Why isn`t Itaru Uchiyama there? Perhaps I have received the wrong papers?"

"I`m afraid you haven`t. Yakumo Toragetsu, his Jounin sensei, said that he thinks he is too young for it. Plus, one of his comrades is leaving his team soon and the other one is not ready for the exams."

"That really is a waste to the village. Shou, you are the Tsukikage. You have the authority to make justice in this situation."

"It`s funny how you are always trash-talking the Uchiyama clan, but when it comes to this boy, Itaru, you have nothing aside from good things to say, Fudou."

"You know that I`m always striving to do anything in my power and I always sacrifice myself for the sake of this village. You are, at the very least, belittling my efforts by saying that." As Fudou saw a hint of guilt in Shou`s face, he decided to shoot everything he had to say, as he knew how permissive the Tsukikage became when he was feeling guilty. "I only said that because if Itaru remains a Genin, the kinds of missions he will do would be too limited and he wouldn`t be able to properly help the village, wasting his high potential. And plus, during the Chuunin Exams, ninjas from other villages, including their leaders, will be present." Fudou slammed his hands against the table. "This would be a perfect opportunity of intimidating the other villages. Even though we have improved a lot since then, the attack of the Four-Tails left Soragakure in a broken condition that we still haven`t fully recovered yet. If they see Itaru`s strength, they will at least think twice before thinking of an attack. Please, think about this and make your decision, Shou. Time won`t stop for you to decide, and the exams will be soon."

Just at that moment Shou realized the knowledge of his right-hand man. And just at that moment Fudou realized really how important Itaru Uchiyama was for his plans. Nobody but Itaru Uchiyama would be able to solve all his problems. The only problem he still had was how to manipulate the young man.

"Your arguments make sense... I promise you I will think about it."

And then, for one moment, they thought about the same thing and with one last glance, Fudou left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I`m evil. no regrets (not tru)  
> keep in mind that there will be even crazier things!!


	8. Chapter 7: Chuunin Exams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru starts the Chuunin Exams.

"I`m home." Itaru announced while closing the front door.

"Welcome back, Nii-san!" screamed a high-pitched voice from afar, running closer to him.

Satsuki jumped on his direction, giving him a tight hug. Itaru smiled and hugged his younger brother back, feeling his happiness. Soon it was Itaru`s Mother who came, with a smile, but not one as big as Satsuki`s. She gently ruffled his hair.

"Welcome home, Itaru. How was the mission today?"

"Yeah, tell me about it! Did you fight?" The younger boy then began jumping up and down excitedly.

"Well, I`m sure Itaru can tell us all about it during dinner. Let`s go, Satsuki, the food is already on the table." And with that, Etsu began to gently push the child towards the table.

Itaru was about to follow them when his Father suddenly appeared in front of him. His gaze was neither happy nor sad, but instead, neutral like always.

"Itaru, I wanted to address something serious with you before dinner. Come with me to my room."

Without waiting for a response, Kenshin turned around and began making the way to his room, Itaru following him blindly. During the short way from the front door to his bedroom, the 10-years-old began wondering what was that serious matter. He hadn`t done anything wrong, but he was still nervous for some reason. When the two of them came inside the room, Kenshin sat down on the bed and Itaru sat by his side.

"The Tsukikage called me in his office today."

Itaru didn`t answer.

"He said that, with your potencial, it`s just unfair that you aren`t able to participate in the Chuunin Exams because of your teammates. And I agree with him. Itaru, even though you`re just 10 years old, you are above Genin level." the Uchiyama continued. "The Tsukikage then made me a proposal. You could participate in the Chuunin Exams, but alone, without anyone else."

The boy still kept quiet, his toes now stroking his sandals.

"I said yes. Because you, Itaru, are in a much greater level than anyone else of your age, and even older than you."

"I see... t-thank you. I promise I will do my best."

Kenshin smiled and proceeded to ruffle his son`s hair.

"I know you will."

***

Itaru had no problems with written tests. Ever since he was 4 years old, as soon as the Third Ninja World War came to its hoped ending, he had began arduously training to be a great ninja, and studying was part of his training. There were times where he would shut himself in his room, accompanied by many large books he borrowed from his parents and just stay there, reading and for a moment, forgetting about the outside world. Soon, the books in their house were not enough for him, and Itaru would frequently go to the library of Soragakure to read more. And because of that, his brain had managed to absorb all the information perfectly, from the Sage of Six Paths to the current days. He didn`t have to cheat, and his answer sheet was complete in a few minutes. As he still had much time, he turned his answer sheet backwards, with the written part turned towards the table, and looked at the other participants, trying to guess what had been their chosen strategy.

He could identify their clans by analyzing their abilities. As those exams had been held in Soragakure, most of the participants were Genin from Sora, but there were also a few from Konoha, Akiko, Iwa and other villages, of which Itaru didn`t have much knowledge about their clans, but vaguely knew some facts. Slowly, the people around him were being eliminated for cheating, while Itaru stood perfectly still and fearless. Everyone else had two other people with them. Itaru was alone. So that meant he had to put even more effort into that. He had to fight for three, defend for three and think for three.

"Time is up," the inspector yelled. "Leave all your answer sheets over the table. The next test will be explained outside, and the results from this first test will be announced."

And so they did. Outside the room was another inspector, a woman with a rather malicious look at her face, like she knew something they didn`t, who announced the ones who had failed after half an hour of wait and then took them out of the building they were. It was a long way until they reached the place chosen for the exams, and it had such high altitude that certain people weren`t able to take it and left. When the woman guiding them finally stopped, they were in an altitude of around 5.000 meters, and aside from the effects of the height, Itaru noticed a thick mist in front of him, plus the weather was way too cold. Considering Soragakure was located in an altitude of 4.200 meters, Itaru quickly realized that the only ones who would be able to endure that would be the ninjas from Sora, who were used to high altitudes, even if not that high.

"Hello there! Name`s Asu Amano and I`ll be your instructor in this second test." the woman announced, her smile holding an innocence that her eyes didn`t. "Basically, right now we are over 5 thousand meters above sea level and this beautiful landscape you see here," Asu made an exaggerated sign towards the are in front of them. "Is called Hellish Sky. If you notice any rests of cadavers or skeletons, don`t worry, it`s normal! It`s just your fellow Genin from the last exams."

All the people around Itaru began mumbling things to each other, probably debating if they should or not give up. Then Asu let out jovial laughter.

"I`m just kidding, seriously! You had to see your faces now... right." Asu continued talking. "I`ll now distribute one scroll to each team. There are two types of scrolls: the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll. Your objective is to adquire another scroll from the opposite type as yours and bring the two of them to the lighthouse in the middle of this damn place within five days. No matter what you do, don`t open the scrolls! It`d be nice to see you do it, but yeah, I have to tell you that... basically that. Oh, have I already said we have giant pterodactyls there? Be careful, because they see you, they`ll use their sharp claws to grab you and fly you to their nests and give you for their offsprings to eat... or if they don't think you`re delicious enough, they`ll simply drop you somewhere. And you`ll die because of the, you know, height."

Most of the Genin now had either a scared or confused expression on their faces, but Itaru`s was serene. He knew none of that was true, and he had to focus on actually important things.

"Anyway, enough of scaring kids, this is getting nasty..." Asu remarked before smiling sadistically. "Good job trying to survive in the middle of this hellhole."

***

The Tsukikage was so immersed on his business that he only noticed the knocking on his door the third time whoever was out there hit it. Shou then quickly pushed the piles of papers everywhere in the table to the side, clearing his vision towards the door.

"Come in!" he then said, and smiled at the audible sigh outside.

After the door was open, a tall man of a fair complex and short, spiky white hair, which had strands falling onto his eyes. He had a lively smile on his face and immediately ran to the Tsukikage`s table, slamming his hands against it. His presence also brought a smell of nature and plants to Shou, filled with nostalgia.

"Hey, finally, old man!" he said playfully. "You took so long to answer that I thought you`d died in there!"

"Oh, sorry, Junichi, I don`t plan on dying any time soon. At least not until Hachirouta Katsuragi is ready to take my place." Shou answered, laughing a little.

"Ah, that`s right! But anyway... nice seeing you again, my old teacher!" Junichi put his hand on Shou`s shoulder right after. "I`ve just arrived in the village, and I don`t plan on leaving again any time soon. Travelling is my passion, but Sora is my home, and it`ll always be. Say, how have things been?"

"Not much changed since you left. You actually didn`t spend much time out this time, right? Compared to your other trips."

"Yeah, I guess you could really say so." Junichi pulled a chair near him and sat down, facing his former teacher. "But even so, it felt so long. I missed this whole place. Seeing you is really nostalgic... I guess that no matter how much I change, or you change, every time I look at you I`ll remember childhood."

"I agree... it`s really fantastic how even though so many years have passed, I can still recognize each of my students` faces when I see them around. During my lifetime, especially I my young days, I teached many students before you." Shou said. "Back then, it was much different. The system of three students and a teacher already existed, but it was not followed as strictly as it is today. I used to teach many groups of students at once... a few times I even teached 10 children at once!"

"I think that`s too much, even for you! And what happened then? My memory may fail me, but you weren`t teaching anyone else during my childhood... were you?"

"No, no, I wasn`t, you`re right. Well, basically... at a point, Takahiko-dono came to me and simply said 'take a break'. He didn`t say anything else, and I decided to teach just the three of you... you, Junichi, Tenmaru and Tsubasa."

"Hm, interesting story. I had never thought about your life before teaching us." Junichi`s smile disappeared from his face and he assumed a more serious and cautious expression. "But... I know you didn`t call me here just to remember past memories. Tell me, what do you need?"

Shou let out a sigh, his smile too fleeing from his face quickly. What they had to talk about was entirely professional, despite everything.

"I feel really bad to ask you to do this to me, but I don`t have any other choice. You are the only one who can really do this." Silence. "Tenmaru... as you know, he`s been under suspicion for a considerable amount of time. What I want is for you to spy on him and let me know about any suspicious move he makes."

"I understand. Kinda feels bad to spy on a former comrade, but above everything, I`m a ninja from Sora, and this is for the village`s sake. If you want, I can start right now." Seeing his master`s silent nod, Junichi got up and waved. "Well, guess I`ll get going then..."

At the same moment, the door of the office opened and Fudou`s figure became visible.

"Shou-- ah, sorry. I didn`t know you`d be having a visit from your student." the man said with some extent of sarcasm on his voice. "I`ll wait outside while you two finish your conversation."

"Oh, no, you don`t need to. I was already leaving, actually. See you later, old man!"

Junichi calmly walked towards the exit and left, making sure to wave goodbye to Fudou, who was holding the door by outside. As soon as he was away, the leader of Hashi came inside himself and closed the door, silently sitting down at the chair to face his former teammate.

"You are too permissive, Shou. I understand that Junichi, along with his teammates, are recognized as the possibly strongest ninjas from their generation and this one too, but they are still your students. You can`t give someone as irresponsible as Junichi the freedom to leave the village and come back to rant with you about personal memories any time he wants to." he said, as sternly as ever.

"For your knowledge, Fudou, it`s not like that at all. Junichi and his teammates are fully-grown adults who have the freedom to do whatever they want, as long as it doesn`t bring any harm to anyone, and can take care of themselves. I can`t control them. Plus, Junichi came here because I called him to assign a mission to him."

"A mission. What kind of mission?"

"I don`t think that`s pertinent. Why did you come here?"

"I just wanted to know how was Itaru Uchiyama`s performance at the Chuunin Exams."

"Itaru is doing well. He was the first to complete the written exam and passed with a perfect answer sheet. He is currently doing the second test, and as soon as he passes we will be informed. But remember that the test only ends after five days or after all Genin pass, which is improbable. So, don`t try rushing anything, Fudou."

"I won`t." Fudou leaned back in the chair, now finally relaxed, and smiled. "This boy, Itaru... he will be extremely valuable to the village one day."

"Like I said, don`t try rushing things. Itaru may be better than many Chuunin and even some Jounin out there, but he is just 10 years old, and still has much to learn before becoming an activate shinobi."

"And don`t try predicting the future, Shou... fate is fickle. You never know what can happen..."

Shou furrowed his brows, but soon let it go and went back to his work.

***

"This is three against one... there`s no way you`re gonna win!"

Itaru didn`t even flinch at the threat. He had noticed that the scroll the team in front of him sported was a Heaven Scroll, opposed to his Earth Scroll. In front of him were three ninjas from Sunagakure, the Hidden Sand Village. 

"So, either your comrades were already killed or they abandoned you there, right?" the girl said, snickering.

"There`s also a third option," Itaru said calmly. "They could be right behind you, preparing to attack. Didn`t you three prepare yourselves for an ambush?" He watched as the faces of the three became white like paper and their smiles died. "But that is not the case. I was alone right from the start."

"Alone... why would you be alone?!" asked the boy who seemed to be the leader of the group.

"I wonder why..."

The next thing that happened was many shuriken and kunai being thrown directly at Itaru, but the boy merely activated his Osoidougan, and as the world around him turned slow, dodging each one of the weapons was easy. Then, one of the boys launched at him, and Itaru, still with his doujutsu`s power activated, seized his arm and stared right at his eyes with his own.

"As long as I have _these_ eyes... none of your attacks will hit me."

The boys and the girl from Suna didn`t hesitate anymore, accepting their defeat, and handed their scroll to Itaru immediately, before running away and screaming. The Uchiyama, then, looked up. The top of the lighthouse was slightly visible, and all that was left was to reach it.

***

"Five hours and forty three minutes... that is the shortest registration so far since we started making the second test in the Hellish Sky. And the fact that he was alone, differently from all the other Genin, only makes it more impressive."

As he heard the calming voice of the boy near him, Fudou smiled somberly. He glanced at his own subordinate, a 13-years old boy named Sora.

"Great... I knew he would pass, but it`s still good to know it." the man said, sitting on his chair. Both of them were at Fudou`s office, on the chambers of Hashi.

"The fact is that the boy is a prodigy," Sora remarked, smirking, and lifted his head, making his cyan locks fall over his blue eyes. "He graduated from the Academy after one year, at age 7, just like me. And I believe that, had he been given the chance to make the exams earlier, he could have became a Chuunin at that same age, or at age 8 like me."

"Naturally, he would. When Itaru joins my organization, he will be of extreme use... it would be much better if he wasn`t an Uchiyama, but that fact by itself has some utility to it... you know what I`m talking about." Sora nodded. "Still, we`ll have to wait for more five days to see the real results. It`s a shame... I`d love to congratulate Itaru for his excellent performance."

***

The local market was really busy that day, making it almost hard to move. Junichi wouldn`t really mind normally, but now he had a mission and it was really different. The last time he had seen, Tenmaru was right a few steps ahead from him, but with so many people in front of him, he feared he had lost the man from view. The only way for one to move around that place was pushing other people and being pushed too, and Junichi was sure that most people were just trying to leave.

He got pushed and destroyed a stand of apples. He gave his address to pay for the harm later. He bumped into a woman and talked for a while. He bought some food and stopped on a place to eat. He also gave autographs to some children who were running around. All of that while keeping close eyes on his recently-found target.

"Day 5... report. I`m currently following him on the streets. No signs of suspicious behavior yet." Junichi said as he wrote everything down in his notebook.

The streets, differently from the market, weren`t too full of people, and Junichi made sure to be always next to others to make sure Tenmaru wouldn`t see him. But when Tenmaru suddenly entered a random alley, he had no choice but to go too. At least the alley wasn`t narrow. Both of them were already in the middle of the alley, and Junichi had already started wondering what in hell was Tenmaru doing in a place like that when he finally spoke up:

"It was Shou-sensei who sent you here, wasn`t it?" He hadn`t even turned around and the other male froze I his spot.

"You... noticed?"

"Please," Tenmaru turned around with a somber expression. "Anyone with half of a brain would notice. You really haven`t changed. What brought you back to Soragakure?"

"Ah, well..." The taller man awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and approached the other one, with an embarrassed smile. "I just wanted to come back. I was already starting to feel homesick..."

"Of course." Tenmaru closed his eyes and chuckled. "That really sounds like you. Ever since childhood, you were too attached to things... like Tsubasa."

"Tsubasa... how is she?"

"Like always. You know, Junichi..." Tenmaru lifted his head, making their eyes lock, and Junichi cringed at the darkness in his eyes. "I guess that both of us know exactly the other one`s feelings in the past. Isn`t that right? I was a prodigy... I succeeded in everything I did... and you were a moron that could barely do anything right."

"Hey, you... don`t talk like that. You`re being offensive."

"Isn`t it true? Are you going to deny the fact that you felt nothing but jealousy and contempt towards me, just because I was everything you weren`t, and I had everything you wished for?" His smile disturbed Junichi.

"Look, it`s not like that. I admit I did feel a little jealous of you, but I didn`t hate you. I never did. You were my best friend, I considered you my friend!"

"So kind and forgiving... you may think you did, but there`s no way you did. People are selfish, Junichi, and I know that at least one time, you wished I was dead."

"What? We were children! I never thought of that! You seriously... I don`t understand you anymore... but I don`t think I ever did."

Tenmaru let out a loud laugh.

"You were an idiot back then and you`re an idiot now, but at least you seem to understand a few things!"

Abruptly and unexpectedly, Junichi seized Tenmaru`s shoulders and held him against the wall.

"Tenmaru! What happened to you? Why did you change like that?! Tell me, what`s wrong?"

"Everything... everything is wrong." Tenmaru`s expression was now more aggressive, hate boiling up inside of him. "But it`s alright... because I`m going to fix everything. And after it all, I`ll finally fulfill my deepest wish... power. What I want is power... I want to be the most powerful person ever."

"You`re talking like a lunatic... calm down. This conversation is over, you`re clearly not in mental condition to keep it up."

"I knew it! You are jealous! You`re jealous because you know that I am better then you, and--"

His sentence was cut short by Junichi gripping his neck tightly. Tenmaru gasped and immediately put his hands over Junichi`s.

"You`re insane. Completely insane."

"A-are you... g-going to j-just... kill me?" Tenmaru asked, with a new smile on his face and a shaking voice due to the pressure. "W-who would h-have t-thought... hahaha..."

For one moment, the thought of murdering Tenmaru and leaving him there passed through Junichi`s mind, but as soon as his former teammate`s grip on his own hands started becoming limper and his black irises started turning around, he found himself unable to keep going and launched himself backwards. Tenmaru, panting, put his hand over his throat and stared at Junichi.

"Coward... that`s what you are!" he shot, still smiling.

Junichi`s hands were trembling. His heart was pounding inside his chest. And then he heard a fairly familiar voice coming in his direction.

"You two! What is happening?!"

Their eyes locked.

"Tsubasa?"


	9. Chapter 8: Reminiscence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Itaru fights against his new opponent, Tsubasa and Junichi remember the past.

"Say... Sora."

Hearing his superior`s words, Sora turned his head to look at him. Fudou was sitting on the chair of his office, wearing a stoic expression as usual. Even so, the younger male could feel a hint of anticipation in his voice and notice an eventual tremor in his eyes and lips sometimes. Fudou hadn`t killed his emotions. He was just very good at masking them and pretending they weren`t there.

"Who will Itaru fight in the final rounds of the Chuunin Exams?" he asked. His lips were shaking and fighting not to curl into a smile.

"Apparently, we discovered that it`s a boy from Kirigakure called Akarui. As you asked, I sent a Squad 6 to investigate the opponent and here is a book with all the information they collected." Sora took a white book from his bag and handed it to Fudou.

He spent a few seconds at each page, and then closed the book and handed it back to his subordinate flatly, still refusing to show emotion openly.

"This boy has an interesting ability... this battle will be fun to watch." Fudou remarked.

"Are you sure about this, Fudou-sama? The opponents of each participants are top secret information and haven`t been divulged yet. I fear that if Itaru goes, he will lose, or the worst could happen to him. If you want, I`m sure we could sabotage it to make sure Itaru fights another person, or make sure he wins."

"My dear Sora... that would make no sense. What attracted me to Itaru was his power and potencial... if I just cheat his way through everything, it would not be his power, but mine." the man said, getting up from his chair. "If Itaru loses this battle or dies, that means he is not the one I was looking for. Which would be a real same... since I had already gotten kind of attached to him."

Sora cringed.

***

"Tsubasa?" Junichi exclaimed, surprised at the vision in front of him.

It was Tsubasa, indeed. And she hadn`t changed even a little bit ever since last time. She still had her long blonde hair set loose down to her waist, and her bangs carefully swept aside to not obstruct the vision or cover her gentle, light green eyes. Also in her hair was a delicate carnation flower, which she had ever since childhood. But since flowers weren`t immortal, she had changed it multiple times, including its color. This time it was a light violet one. Last time Junichi had seen her, it was a deep pink one. She had changed just that little bit. And her chosen outfit was a simple pale green kimono with white details and black heels. Junichi`s face burned as he stared at her full appearance. She was too beautiful.

"Junichi..." Hearing his own name leave her lips made his face get hotter. "Just what do you think you`re doing?"

"Ah, good thing you came, Tsubasa." said Tenmaru, like nothing had happened. "Such a lovely reencounter between old friends... even though I don`t think Junichi considers any of us friends, in two different ways."

"I..."

"But it`s fine, Junichi, you don`t need to try explaining yourself. It`s too obvious, after all... and seeing by the way you two look at each other, I`d say I`m being third wheel here. So it`s better if I just leave the two lovebirds here alone, right?"

With a mocking chuckle, Tenmaru came and passed through the space between the two, obstructing their view of each other. Junichi felt as if he had purposely did that and spent as much time as they could between them, and he was sure that he felt Tenmaru glare at him after he had left. And then it was just him and Tsubasa again. Just him and Tsubasa alone in the entire world... after some time of awkward silence, the two of them started speaking at the same time:

"So, you`re back--"

"You really haven`t changed--"

And they stopped on their tracks and looked away, both faces burning in embarrassment.

"You say first..." Tsubasa said, finally building up the courage to look at him straight on the eye.

"Well, you said I could say first... then I choose to answer your question first." Junichi smiled playfully and Tsubasa gave him the draft of a smile. "Yeah, I`m back. I arrived 5 days ago, actually. I was planning on meeting you, but that old man of a Tsukikage called me in his office and assigned me a mission. I`ve been busy ever since."

"I see... Shou-sensei really gives us no breaks, right? It`s been like that since childhood..."

Since when were they so distant? Their relation had always been so close, so heartfelt, whether it had been Tsubasa scolding Junichi for his actions or Junichi flirting with Tsubasa, pretending he was just kidding. So why was she acting like a newly-met stranger or a distanced friend now?

"Say, Tsubasa, I was thinking of... going out. With you. During my way back, I promised myself that the first thing I`d do when I came back was ask you out. As friends. When can go get a drink at the bar, maybe... like old times."

"That... would be very nice, Junichi. I accept the offer."

***

Itaru stared deeply at the opponent in front of him, trying to look into his soul and discover about him or his abilities. It was no use, but if he could at least intimidate the boy named Akarui enough, it would be good enough.

"The fight will go on until one of you admits defeat. However, I can stop the fight if I think it`s over. Do both of you get this?" said the inspector to them, before they nodded in confirmation. "In this case... start!"

As soon as the fight started, Akarui jumped backwards to stay as far as possible from Itaru. The Uchiyama stood still, in hopes to be able to study his enemy`s fighting style and abilities. Akarui shoved his hands inside the pockets of his jacket and then, with his right hand, took out a kunai, and with his left hand, took out something that Itaru wasn't able to see since he was gripping it, and then, he began to run towards Itaru. Itaru hadn`t brought any weapon, so he would have to rely solely on his taijutsu, ninjutsu and the few things he knew about genjutsu. But he knew he had to pay attention to whatever was in the boy`s left hand. Itaru activated his Osoidougan as soon as Akarui got near him, but then his whole vision suddenly went white and he only had the time to jump back as he felt the sharp end of the kunai cut his cheek.

Right after his vision started gradually coming back to normal, he noticed what Akarui was holding. It was a small, square-shaped piece of glass. Everything suddenly made sense. And, somewhere within the crowd watching the fight, Fudou smiled.

_'Yes... he is trying to blind Itaru. This boy knows how dangerous the Osoidougan is when used by a true blood heir... so the easiest way to conquer that was harming his vision.'_

Itaru clenched his fists. Akarui was clearly using the light in his favor to harm his vision, and so, incapacitate him from using his doujutsu. So if his vision wasn`t going to do him any good, it was better not to use it. The boy looked at everything around him and, after memorizing everything, shut his eyes and charged at Akarui, who was in front of him. Not using his vision could be considered a horrible idea, even if there were reasons for it, but as long as he had his memory and hearing, it would be alright. The two of them kept up a fight, Itaru still refusing to open his eyes.

_'He knows that if he keeps his eyes open, he will simply be harmed. That is why he closed them... such a smart boy.'_

He felt Akarui lift his hand at him, and immediately seized it. It was the one that had the kunai in it. The weapon fell, Itaru knew it because he had heard the sound, and he kicked it away and jumped back. Opening his eyes a little, Itaru decided to finally show off the abilities of the Osoidougan. But as soon as he would cast Exterior Limits over Akarui, the boy put his piece of glass covering his eyes. And then there suddenly was a crack in its extension. 

Itaru smiled. He already knew how to win that fight.

***

"It`s actually been so much time since we actually had close contact... it feels like it`s been years." Junichi said, taking a sip from his drink.

It really had been so much time. He was almost sure that, the last time he had been in Sora, they hadn`t gone out together to drink like they used to. Actually, ever since the accident, Junichi and Tsubasa, or more generalized, everyone and Tsubasa were very distant.

"Guess so..." Her speech was already slurred and her cheeks were rosy. Tsubasa was already drunk, Junichi knew, and he himself was tipsy. She then got up from the table. "Another sake!"

"I think that`s enough for you. You`ve already drank too much, you`ll run out of money."

"Look who`s talking..." Tsubasa sat down again.

"Yeah... true." He chuckled. "I guess I have no right to say that."

Silence reigned between them another time. Awkward silence.

"I think that... the only reason why I drink so often is because of my Father. Y`know... right?" Tsubasa finally said, looking calmer and sadder, like she had sobered up.

"Your Father..."

"I try to pretend it`s not... but it is. And I hate it. My Father really wasn`t a good person... he made me and my Mother suffer so much. No, not just us... them, too... and maybe, if he had done things differently, _he_ wouldn`t have..."

She suddenly stopped on her tracks. Junichi lowered his head. _He_. Both of them knew exactly who she was talking about and neither of them wanted to get to that point. How many years had it been? They didn`t know, and if they tried to calculate, all the memories they had struggled to shut away would flood back. Junichi and Tsubasa were both adults, perhaps not responsible adults, but still adults, and they knew they had to accept the facts of life. But Tsubasa couldn`t.

"Let`s talk about something else." Junichi decided.

"No. I don`t want to talk about something else. I don`t care about anything else! Why don`t you listen?" Tsubasa suddenly snapped angrily. "For years... for all this time, I kept this pain harbored in my chest. I didn`t talk to anyone, I never let it out. Because I knew it would be selfish of me to rant about my problems and bother everyone. That`s why I kept it hidden! But then... _he_ came." Junichi froze at the word 'he'. "He knew it wasn`t okay. He let me talk. He asked me to talk. He didn`t mind, he talked too... he understood my pain, and he respected me! Why can`t you do the same?!" She suddenly got up from the table. "Why? Why are _you_ the one who is here? Why couldn`t he be here? The two of them? If it was him... I`m sure he would understand."

"Tsubasa... I`m really, really sorry. For everything."

"No... no, I`m sorry." She lifted her head, tears running down her cheeks. "I shouldn`t have said this... I`m so sorry. You`ve done so much for me, none of this is your fault... I..."

"I understand, Tsubasa. I really do... please, don`t say anything anymore." With a genuine smile, Junichi got up and approached her. "Here... I`ll take you home. Is that okay?"

"Yes, please... please, do that before I screw everything up again."

***

Dodging an attack just by his instincts alone, Itaru finally finished building up enough chakra to use Exterior Limits another time. Again, as expected, Akarui used his glass square to defend his vision and, since Itaru had already used it a few times before, it broke in millions of shards to the ground. 

In the crowd, Fudou`s smile grew larger and more somber.

_'Exterior Limits... with this technique, anyone who possesses their Osoidougan can use it to, just by staring straight at a person`s eyes, transfer some of the special chakra of the doujutsu to them, and so, slow down or accelerate their vision. The duration of the effect depends on the amount of chakra given. The only way to stop the technique before it happens is using something, like a mirror or a glass, to defect the rays of chakra... the chakra would simply go past it if it was anything else. This is practically a genjutsu...'_

With his main ability gone, Akarui found himself unable to keep going, and instantly admitted defeat. Itaru never laid a single physical attack on him. And probably, very few people in the crowd were able to perceive what he had done, but certainly, after that, the fame of the Osoidougan would go up, and so would the fame of Soragakure. Suddenly, at the same time all people watching began clapping and shouting words of encouragement and praises at him. Itaru could only smile, frantically searching for any familiar faces. Until his eyes locked with the eyes of someone else and his smile vanished from his face.

_'Fudou Murano.'_

He was clapping too, like everyone else, but in both his eyes and his smile were hidden a dark wish. Itaru had to be careful.

***

Itaru found himself standing in a stage in the room in his house dedicated to the clan reunions. It was a rather big room, which was always locked so him and Satsuki wouldn`t come in, and very dark, but he could still see the faces of men and women much older than him in front of him. And right by his side was his Father, placing his hand right in his shoulder.

"My son, Itaru, the heir of the leadership of the Uchiyama clan has become a Chuunin today, at age 10." Kenshin said proudly, pointing to the light cyan flak jacket the boy wore. "It`s good if you say something now." he whispered just for his son to hear.

"From now on, that I`m considered more than just a child, I`ll always be ready to devote my life to Soragakure and the Uchiyama clan. I`ll strive to be the best ninja as possible and make sure all of this we know today is never lost."

Yes, he was a Chuunin now. He was able to help and continue his dream to a greater extension than before. That was another step given in the direction of his objective.

"Congratulations." said one of his Father`s subordinates, Shinto. He was followed by Osamu and Takka, and soon later, by the rest of the members of the clan.

"Now that Itaru has been promoted to Chuunin, I plan on letting him join the Anbu." Some people present showed surprise, considering the unstable relations between Soragakure and the Uchiyama, but nobody protested and kept their thoughts only to themselves. "By doing that... Itaru would serve as a bridge between us and the rest of the village. That could help fix up our relation with them and he could also bring us valuable information."

The last part of the last line made Itaru literally look up at his Father to check if he was really serious. In an impulse, he then said:

"Even if we are from the same village?"

The voice reached the ears of everyone in the room. Itaru cursed that impulsiveness and that thought.

"What did you say, Itaru?" Kenshin asked him, like he hadn`t understood. He knew he was supposed to say 'nothing', but what left his lips was something different.

"We are from the same village. The Uchiyama clan, the Takemori clan, and many others. We are comrades fighting for a the same cause: protect Soragakure. You were the one who said that to me."

"Are you saying you`re against us and on Soragakure`s side?" Shinto started angrily.

"I`m not on anyone`s side, nor am I against anyone. We are just a small part of what is Soragakure. If you just look at the situation from your point of view instead of a general one, you`ll never be able to change your opinion."

"You bastar--"

"That`s enough!" Kenshin screamed, making the room completely silent. "Apologize to everyone now, Itaru." His voice was strict and angry. "You`re just a child, you have to show respect to your superiors. Never do this again."

Itaru reluctantly obliged, bowing his head to everyone in front of him.

"I`m sorry. Please, forgive me. I lost control," he said sheepishly, feeling Shinto`s smile over him.

"We`ll talk about this at home." Kenshin said, just for Itaru to hear.

Itaru said nothing.

***

Tsubasa had told him the location of her house, and Junichi used his knowledge on Soragakure to try finding it. He was glad the village hadn`t changed anything since he had left. It took them a few minutes to finally reach the place, mainly because both of them weren`t sober, and when they finally got there, Tsubasa had to empty her pockets just to find the keys. To remember which key was the right one to unlock the door was another fight. Then they finally came in and Junichi helped Tsubasa to her bed. 

"Here. Now rest." he said, firmly, but playfully.

"Thank you, Junichi... thank you. Really." she replied, laying down on the bed. 

Junichi looked around the room, spotting two picture frames turned upside down above a small wooden table. He approached it and grabbed the first one to look at it. It was a picture from many years ago, depicting Tsubasa sitting on a chair with a smiling young boy that had short, messy light brown hair next to her, holding a plate of _omurice_. Junichi remembered it vividly, he was the one who had taken that picture. A smile, even if it was a sad one, brightened up his face and he sat next to Tsubasa on her bed. She smiled.

"Naoto... he really was a good child." she said, tracing her fingers over the boy in the photo. "I remember everything that day, Junichi. It was you the one who discovered what was happening... you discovered that my Father had been going out with many women trying to have a son to be his heir. You told me, and my Father deserted... and then, some time later, you discovered Naoto."

"He was so sad and tired when we found him. After all, he was abandoned by both his Father and his Mother. But as we spent more time with him, he eventually opened up to us... and he was always so happy around you."

"I loved him. I love him. I should have taken better care of him. It wasn`t just my Father`s fault, it was my fault too."

"Don`t say that. It was a war, Tsubasa. Nobody can predict what happens. Even children suffer the consequences of what we, adults, cause."

Tsubasa sniffed and Junichi got up again, putting the picture frame turned forwards. Then he took the other picture frame and examined it. It was also from a long time ago, and in there was Tsubasa, smiling, and holding the hand of a man with long, white hair with a tint of light blue with straight bangs covering his forehead and stopping right in the point to leave his closed eyes visible. Junichi hadn`t been the one who took that picture. He didn`t even know it existed until now. Then he simply walked back to the bed to show it to Tsubasa.

"Daichi..." she said, and gently took the picture from his hands to stare at the man. "I miss him so much... him and Naoto."

"You really did love him, didn`t you? Daichi, I mean." Junichi asked in sad acceptance.

"I did... it really was love, I know that. I wish they were alive."

"Why do you keep them turned to the table?"

"Junichi. I`m... too afraid of the past. It haunts me, it hurts me. When I remember them, I feel happy, but so sad at the same time... I don`t want to see anymore. Please, take it away."

He got the photo frame and put it back on the table.

"I guess I`ll be taking my leave now, then. See you later."

Then Junichi quietly left her room and then the house. Before really leaving, he looked back at the house and the picture of Tsubasa holding hands with Daichi materialized itself on his mind again.

"I can`t compete with him. He`s too perfect. I should have realized this by now." he said to himself, giving a chuckle. "Losing to a dead man... really sounds like me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter title: Tsubasa Gaiden - Love Dead In A Battlefield


	10. Chapter 9: Tsubasa Gaiden - Love Dead In A Battlefield (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of Tsubasa`s past.

Tsubasa Takemori was 7 years old when she became a Genin.

It wasn`t her choice who would be her new teammates and sensei, but she didn`t care. She trusted her superiors on that decision. Plus, she was so excited about becoming a ninja that nobody else could ruin her innocent happiness. That was what she really believed. Students normally only discovered who their comrades would be during their first meeting, which was dedicated to presentations, but due to Tsubasa being a member of the Takemori clan, the most noble clan of Soragakure, and also related to the First Tsukikage, she received the whole list of teams of her generation. Not just of her team. The list of all the teams of the people who would graduate from Academy that year. Any other 7-years-old child would be excited and already thinking of all the pranks she could play with such power, but the first thing Tsubasa did when she received the list was run to her bedroom, lock the door and skip all pages, looking just for her name.

After a bit of search, she finally recognized the kanji that made up her name. Her name was in the middle, while in the left side of her name was written "Tenmaru" and on the right side was written "Junichi". Above all of them, written in bigger letters, was "Shou Minami". The Tsukikage. Tsubasa was obviously surprised at that, but now as surprised as anyone else would be, since due to her noble privilegies, she also knew that the Tsukikage would be teaching some graduates. She just didn`t expect it to be her. And she also didn`t remember those other two boys that would be her teammates just by name, and there were no pictures...

It made her feel curious. Normally she would go ask her grandfather and bother him with questions, but now she wasn't there anymore. It had been two years since the First Shinobi World War had ended, and it had been two years since Hachiro Takemori, the First Tsukikage of Soragakure, had died. Memories flooding back at her, Tsubasa sighed and threw the list away, falling back at her bed.

The first encounter of the team was tomorrow. She would make sure to remember to go visit his grave after it.

***

"My name is Shou Minami. You three probably know me as Second Tsukikage, but from now on, you`ll call me Shou-sensei. Alright?"

Tsubasa and her two comrades were sitting in the ground, all of them hugging their legs and staring in awe at the man standing in front of them: the Second Tsukikage, but now, apparently he wasn`t Lord Second, he was Shou-sensei. But, for Tsubasa, he was still the man who was replacing her grandfather. She trusted his judgement, so she wasn`t mad or doubtful. 

"This first day will be only dedicated to introductions, and the official missions will start tomorrow. So let`s do it like this... each one of you can say your name, something you like, something you dislike, a hobby, a dream and a description you think suits you. Who wants to start?"

"How about you start, sensei?" proposed the white-haired boy sitting on Tsubasa`s right, rocking his body back and forth. His voice was loud and a bit annoying. Boisterous.

Shou seemed surprised, but soon later smiled back to them.

"Well, alright them." he started. "My name, like I`ve already said, is Shou Minami. Something I like... I like teaching things to people and learning too. I dislike wars. My hobby is admiring Soragakure. I have many dreams, but currently, the one I strive the most to accomplish is becoming a Tsukikage as great as the First... if that is possible." Tsubasa`s eyes shone, feeling that that statement was directed specially at her. "A description of me... let`s see. I`d say I`m a dreamer... and a very flexible person who always wants to help. That`s it about me. Now, who wants to go?"

"Me! Me! Choose me, sensei!" Again, the white-haired boy began screaming and lifting his hand to the air frantically. Boisterous indeed.

"Alright, alright. You can go now."

The boy jumped up and walked towards the Tsukikage, pointing to the place where he was previously sitting at. Shou agreed without hesitating and sat down. Tsubasa sighed. Who did that showoff think he was?

"Hello, y`all! My name`s Junichi, but you can call me The Strongest And Fastest And Smarter And Bestest Lord Junichi-sama!"

"That`s too long! If you`re going to put so many adjectives, you can`t use the word 'and' so many times! Also, the word 'bestest' doesn`t exist, and if 'sama' is the equivalent of Lord, you don`t have to put it too! That`s redundancy!" Tsubasa said irritated.

"Redu... red... what?! Why do you speak with so many difficult words?! I don`t understand anything you say, lass!" Junichi shot.

"That`s alright. Tsubasa, you don`t need to correct your teammate so harshly, let him talk freely. And Junichi, don`t talk like that to her, you`re being disrespectful." Shou said.

"Sorry, sensei..." the two of them said at once.

"Don`t apologize to me. Apologize to each other."

The boy and the girl locked eyes and glared at each other immediately, making Shou sweatdrop.

"Well... maybe later. You can go on now, Junichi."

"Ah, right, right! Where was I? Ah, yeah! What I like... I like many things, but my favorite thing ever is playing ninja! What I dislike are spoiled know-it-alls!" he screamed, directly at Tsubasa. "My hobby is training and fishing! My dream is to become the _bestest_ ninja ever! And a description of me... I may not be the best now, but in the future I`ll be really strong! Write those words... you`re all laughing now, but in the future, let`s see!"

"That was really good, Junichi. Who wants to go now?" Shou got up and him and Junichi changed places.

"I`ll go, sensei. But I`ll stay here." Tsubasa said. "My name is Tsubasa Takemori. You`ve probably heard of me as he granddaughter of the First. I like reading, and I also like logical challenges. What I dislike are loudmouthed idiots!" She glared at Junichi again. "My hobby is studying and training. My dream is to make people proud one day. Basically... I think I`m a good leader and mature for my age."

"I see, that is good, Tsubasa." Shou turned his gaze to the quiet boy with black hair sitting in Tsubasa`s left side. "Tenmaru, do you want to go now?"

"No, I don`t want to talk." he said bluntly, with a soothing voice that felt more like a whisper.

"Hey, no need to be shy!" Junichi said, kneeling in front of the other boy. "Like, if you like something really weird, it`s seriously fine. We won`t judge you. At least, _I_ won`t!"

"It`s alright, he doesn`t have to talk if he doesn`t want to." Shou smiled to them. "Now, let`s go for the second part of the test, shall we?"

All the three children got up, and Junichi was clearly he most excited one about everything. Then Shou took three blindfolds and some pieces of rope.

"Now that you already know a few things about each other, I`ll do a practical test. I`m going to blindfold and tie you up together. Then you`re free to do anything to break free. There is only one rule: the ones that break free can`t help the others. I`ll start now."

He then put the blindfolds over the eyes of each one of them, and then, suddenly, their vision was nothing but darkness. Right after that, their arms were tied behind their bodies and all the ropes were tied together. Tsubasa, Junichi and Tenmaru were chained together. 

"Right, right! Guys, you can hear me, right? We need a plan to take those things off!" Junichi yelled.

"Oh, really? I hadn`t noticed, you`re right." Tenmaru replied sarcastically.

"Well, that`s what Shou-sensei said. Didn`t you hear?"

"Junichi, are you so stupid you can`t understand sarcasm?" Tsubasa shot angrily.

"Sar... ah, just stop saying those hard words!" the white-haired boy retorted. "Hey, wait... do you guys smell what I`m smelling?"

"What are you smelling?" Tenmaru asked.

"It`s dango! Fresh dangos! I know a nice old lady in the market that makes dangos, every day I go there and buy some! I do this so much that by now, the old lady is my _bestest_ friend and sometimes she even gives me dangos for free!"

"And how will this help us? I don`t quite think I understood."

"Well, it won`t. But now that I know that she`s making dangos, I want to do this as fast as possible! Actually, can we go there now? I`m hungry."

"No!" Tsubasa screamed. "Shut up and let`s think!"

"We should walk around and try to see if we can find something useful."

"Good idea."

First the three of them started walking all in different directions, which resulting in simply scratching their wrists and not damaging the rope even a little. When they finally decided on which direction to go first, Junichi fell many times as he was walking backwards, and made Tsubasa and Tenmaru fall too. Finally, later, they succeeded in walking without any bigger complications. In the end, they found an old log with a sharp point they used to cut off the ropes, and after that, taking off the blindfolds was easy.

"Congratulations, you three. That was really good," Shou said, approaching them. "Do any of you have an idea why I did this?"

"To test our memory and skills?" Tenmaru proposed.

"Yes, exactly. For example... if you get caught in a visual genjutsu, you won`t be able to see reality. So, in those cases, you`ll have to rely on your other senses. What else?"

None of them said anything else.

"My other objective was to test your teamwork. I think that this way, we could create some bonds, and so, become stronger as a team. This is all for today... disperse!"

***

"Hey... Jii-chan."

Tsubasa was in the cemetery, in front of her grandfather`s grave. His grave was amongst all the others, which in the start made it harder to find, but she eventually memorized its location. Hachiro had always said that when he died, he wanted to be buried like anyone else, because being the Tsukikage didn`t make him any different. And so they did.

"I`m really sorry for not coming here too much recently... I`m a Genin now, do you know that? My missions start tomorrow." She kneeled and put a white flower over the grave. "I didn`t have time to buy some beautiful flowers to you, so today I can only give you this one I picked on my way here. Sorry. I promise that when I can, I`ll bring some nice ones to you." She got up. "I mostly came here because I was on those days where I miss you so much that it hurts and aches at night. I`m better now. Thanks... Jii-chan. I have to go now, but when I come back I`ll spend more time with you. Bye..."

As soon as she started to leave, she spotted another figure in the cemetery. Tsubasa looked around. The place was really big, but only the two of them were there. Getting closer, she managed to figure out who it was: Tenmaru, the boy that was her teammate. Should she approach him or not? As bad as she felt, she was curious, so she opted for the first option.

"T... Tenmaru-kun?" the girl called gently.

The boy turned around, showing an expression with absolutely no emotion. She froze for a second and then gave him a sympathetic smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do people normally do in a cemetery?" he shot back.

"You`re right... sorry. I mean... who are you visiting?"

"My parents." Tenmaru pointed to two graves in front of him.

"I`m really sorry for that. I`m visiting my grandfather. The First Tsukikage. He died two years ago in the war, but it still hurts so much when I think about him."

"My parents also died in the war. Whenever I feel lonely I come here."

Tsubasa felt her cheeks starting to get red.

_'He... is just like me.'_

***

During her years in that team, Tsubasa discovered many things about her teacher, her teammates and even herself. She discovered that Shou saw her grandfather as a role model, and his biggest fear was not being a good enough Tsukikage. She discovered that Junichi had absolutely no talent or potencial to be a ninja, and she even admired him for still keeping on. She discovered that Tenmaru made her heart skip beats and beat faster and her cheeks turn hot whenever she looked at him, and that he was a prodigy with many abilities. And she also discovered that she had a crush on Tenmaru, but she managed to hide it from everyone. Or so she thought. After all, it had already been three years since their encounter and now all the three of them were 10 years old and Chuunin. 

"Pay more attention, Junichi!" Shou screamed, standing next to Tsubasa.

She was sitting on the ground and watching as her two male teammates sparred. It was obvious who would be the winner, but Tsubasa still couldn`t take her eyes off the scene.

"I am, sensei!" 

And then Junichi started running in Tenmaru`s direction, all while shouting loudly. Tenmaru didn`t even blink and just stayed into place. 

"Now we`ll finally solve this between us, Tenmaruuuu!!" 

But right before he could get near the other boy, Junichi tripped on a rock in the way and went flying away, falling in the lake near both of them. Neither Tsubasa nor Tenmaru were surprised, but Shou immediately ran in the direction of the lake and kneeled near it.

"Junichi? Junichi, where are you?" he kept asking, until the white-haired boy emerged from the lake and pulled himself out with some effort.

"That was really close!" he screamed, going onto a battle position to fight Tenmaru again. "But now, this won`t happen again!"

The battle started, for real this time. Junichi charged towards Tenmaru and attacked, only for his fist to be effortlessly seized by the raven-haired boy, who used it to pull his teammate and throw him on the ground, pinning him. The battle was over, and not even a minute had passed.

"That was good, Tenmaru!" Tsubasa said, blushing slightly.

"Congratulations on your victory, Tenmaru. You still have to practice and learn a lot, Junichi." Shou told the boys. "I think this is it for today... stay safe, all of you. Disperse!"

And the next second, Shou and Tenmaru were gone. Only Tsubasa and Junichi remained. As soon as the girl turned around to leave, the boy came running and placed his hand over her shoulder.

"Hey. Wanna go eat something?" he asked, happy-go-lucky.

"Sure."

***

Four years had passed since that day. Tsubasa didn`t discover nearly as much as she had discovered during her first years with her team, because she was already used to everyone there, but she noticed that recently her feelings for Tenmaru were starting to fade away. Maybe keeping them bottled up for so long was a good thing, after all. It probably wasn`t truly love, just a temporary passion. Now, she thought of him more of a younger brother than anything else, and Junichi was just her best friend. 

The two of them were currently sitting on a table in a restaurant that was so small and casual it could be mistaken by a bar by a foreigner, and Tsubasa had mistaken it for her own home countless of times, since it was so cozy. There were two cups in the table, each one containing _amazake_ , a kind of sweet sake with no alcohol. Tsubasa`s cup was almost empty, while Junichi`s was still half full.

"We`ve just ordered that and you`re already finishing it? Geez, this way you`ll become an alcoholic when you grow up." he remarked, drinking more.

"Can you complain? You`re the one counting each day for your eighteenth birthday so you`ll be able to drink real sake." Tsubasa retorted with a teasing smile. "Plus... I`ll turn 18 first. So, for one month, you`ll have to bear with me being free while you`re still a child in the eyes of the law."

"That`s harsh! In this case, during this one month, I won`t go out with you. How about that now, miss know-it-all?"

"Hm. Touche." She brought the cup to her mouth one last time, finishing her drink. "You know... my Dad has been acting really weird these past months."

"Weird... in what way?"

"Like... he used to drink before, but now he`s drinking a lot. He never did anything really bad, but still, it`s weird. Forget it... it`s probably nothing. I`m just exaggerating."

"Exaggerating, huh..." Junichi stared at the insides of his cup blankly before finally drinking it. "Right... right, yeah. Probably..."

"Hey, what`s that tone all of a sudden?"

"Nothing."

"I know you. What is it? Is it about my Dad? Do you know something?"

"I don`t know anything... at least not yet."

Tsubasa stared at him in mild confusion before finally realizing what he meant. She then began thinking and looking at him not so playfully.

"Junichi," the girl started, hands over the table. "You seriously... don`t plan on spying on my Dad, right? Like I said, I`m just exaggerating. It`s probably nothing. As long as he doesn`t do anything bad, I don`t want to suspect anything. And if he did, I`d tell people."

"That idea never even passed through my mind, my beautiful Tsubasa," Junichi replied, laughing in a way that she couldn`t know if he was joking or talking seriously. Then he got up from the chair as loudly as possible, probably scratching the floor, but didn`t even flinch at that possibility. "Anyway, I`ve got to go now. Take care. And pay the bill."

"Right... see you later, take care. Just... don`t do anything stupid."

"Aww, you worry about me? I love you too, Tsubasa." he said, turning only his head around.

"Junichi..."

"Kidding, kidding! I won`t. Bye!"

As soon as Junichi left her field of vision, Tsubasa fell victim to her thoughts and theories. No, more like Junichi`s thoughts and theories, because he was the one who had implanted those on her head. If it hadn`t been for him and his distrust, she would probably have forgotten it. In their team, Junichi was the one who brightened everything up. He was the one who served as a kind of comical relief, and just by cracking one joke, all of sudden tension was gone, no matter what was its source. And because of that, he influenced the behavior of people around him a lot. Junichi was truly special in his own way. Most of the time he was pissing Tsubasa off, but in moments like those, he was the one that brought her most happiness.

"Wait... pay the bill?! Junichi! Junichi, you moron, wait!!"

Even though it didn`t last much and they were back to their rivalry.

***

Night fell as silently as ever. And when the clock marked midnight, Junichi jumped out of his bed and in light speed, switched his pajamas for his everyday clothes. Both his parents were out in a mission and would probably return only on the night of the next day, so he didn`t have to worry about not making noise. Not that night. His normal clothes were bright red and orange: definitely not good for someone who wanted to sneak out and not arouse suspicion from others, but he didn`t care. Jumping out of the stairs, he grabbed the keys under the carpet of the door and opened it, leaving the house, locking the door and throwing the keys under the carpet outside.

He the started to run. He took his time. Junichi went through the longest ways and even stood still, without moving some times. That was for no particular reason. He just liked walking through long distances and travelling in general. When he finally arrived at the public building, it was around half past midnight. The building was really big, to say the least the same size of the Academy, but Junichi was sure it was larger. After all, the population of Soragakure was definitely not small, with its majority being children. Orphaned children. 

As expected, the door was locked shut. Adults didn`t quite liked him, and they were probably sleeping at that hour, so knocking wasn`t an alternative. Yeah, he would have to throw rocks at every window and see where was Tenmaru. So he started. Most of the people didn`t even reply. Two of them screamed insults at him. And one had his window open, so the rock went straight through it and he assumed it hit him on the head, as the furious boy looked at him through the window with a bump on his forehead. Junichi couldn`t hold laughter, and soon, both of them had bumps on their foreheads.

Then, finally, Tenmaru appeared in one of the windows. Junichi almost forgot he couldn`t scream, so he simply made exaggerated signs towards the ground and himself, and suddenly, Tenmaru shut his window and disappeared. Junichi figured that either he was really mad and had gone back to sleep and he would stand there like an idiot for hours or he was coming. Thankfully it was the second option and Tenmaru quickly got out wearing a black kimono, differently from his white kimono from everyday.

"Have you just thrown a rock in my window at midnight to call me down here?" Tenmaru exclaimed, not seeming mad, just shocked, but his face was as emotionless as ever.

"Details aren`t important. What`s important is that I need your help." Junichi responded, smiling brightly.

"What do you want now?"

"The point is... I was talking to Tsubasa earlier. She said her Dad is acting weird, you know, drinking more than usual. She said she was probably overstating it, but I know she said that just so I wouldn`t worry about her. After all, she loves me so very much, and she doesn`t want to se me worried. So that s _he_ wouldn`t get worried about _me_ getting worried, I promised her I wouldn`t do anything stupid, because I love her so very much."

"And now, here you are, about to do something stupid. Is this it?"

"I know, I may seem like a lying cheat, but I can`t put in words how much my heart aches just at the thought of betraying her trust!" Junichi yelled, making dramatic movements and pretending to wipe tears. "I remember her face when I said I wouldn`t do anything... so calm, so relieved, so peaceful, so empty of any bad feeling, and mainly, so beautiful... I`ll never forgive myself for this. But this is for her own good."

"Basically, you`re telling me you want me to help you spy on the head of the Takemori clan, the most important clan in the village."

"Exactly it! Good to know you get things fast."

Tenmaru sighed audibly and facepalmed.

"You seriously called me out at midnight for this?"

"Are you thinking of betraying me, your most loyal and best friend? You have to come, seriously! What kind of friend refuses to help a friend? A traitor, I say! If you don`t quit acting like a traitor, I`ll tell this to Shou-sensei, and he`ll have you handcuffed and tied to the wall by your arms, and as much as it`ll hurt to see you like that, my friend, I--"

"Fine."

"You... said yes?! I love you! As a friend, of course! Now come, it`s a long way to the Takemori Mansion!"

Tenmaru sighed again.

***

Both the boys were near the mansion. It wasn`t exactly a mansion, just a big house, but that`s how it was known around Soragakure. Junichi looked inside by the windows. They were all locked, and inside was so dark he couldn`t see anything.

"So, how are we going to come inside, detective?" Tenmaru teased ironically. "It`ll be fun to see you torture yourself trying. This is why I came. And if we come in, how are we going to see inside?"

"I`ll find a way... it can`t really be hard. And about seeing... just remember what Shou-sensei says always! When you get trapped in a genjutsu, hm... you can`t see, so you have to use your other senses! That!"

"Then use your other senses and find a way for us to come in."

"Uh..."

Junichi looked up. On the second floor was Tsubasa`s room, and he widened his eyes seeing her window was open.

"Tsubasa`s window is open! We can do the walk-in-wall thing and get there!"

"You mean focus our chakra on our feet to climb the walls?"

"Exactly! Come on... let`s go!"

Just a few time later, both of them were inside the room. The room itself was very beautiful, but Junichi only had eyes for the sleeping girl in the bed, his face as red as a tomato.

"Focus on the _plan_ , Junichi. Did you come here to spy on Tsubasa or on her father?" Tenmaru scolded.

"At first it was her father... but I definitely wouldn`t mind seeing her too! She looks so beautiful while sleeping... Tenmaru, I really do love her, don`t I?"

Tenmaru had to literally drag Junichi out of the room, both of them fighting silently to not wake up Tsubasa. Then they went downstairs slowly, thanking the fact that the Takemori were so rich their wooden stairs made no weird shrieking sounds. As soon as they went down, Junichi peeked at the room on their right, and his heart skipped a beat when he noticed a figure sitting on a chair near a table. The two stayed leaned against the wall, eventually peeking to see the situation there. It was Tsubasa`s father, and in the table in front of him were many bottles of sake, some empty, some full and some broken into millions of glass shards over the ground and the table.

"He`s completely drunk, probably," Tenmaru whispered in awe.

"If he comes, I`ll sacrifice myself for you to run. Tell Tsubasa I`m sorry for lying and I love her more than anything in the world. Also, tell my parents I love them and say that to my dog too."

"You don`t have a dog."

"If my parents bring me a dog, tell them I love them even though I didn`t meet them."

"Stop ranting about nonsense."

They fell mute, and focused their gaze on the man. He violently ripped an envelope and pulled out the letter inside of it. It didn`t seem long, but actually very short. After some time of reading, he also ripped it in many pieces and threw it on the trash can that was against the wall Tenmaru and Junichi were hiding at, right at their side. Without hesitating, Junichi pulled all the pieces of paper inside the can and the boys ran up again.

"We`re done here. I have no idea what this is... but it`s information. Mission successful!" Junichi said and extended his fist for Tenmaru to bump his too, but the raven-haired male just shrugged and sighed.

"Whatever, let`s go. You can try to put that together tomorrow, even though it`s ripped on pieces so tiny it`s impossible. Let`s go."

"You can get going... I`m coming."

Tenmaru then jumped out by the window. Junichi approached the bed and laid a kiss on Tsubasas forehead.

"Goodnight, my princess... sweet dreams."

And then, as soon as he jumped out of the window, a light blush along with a smile lightened up her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Tsubasa Gaiden - Love Dead In A Battlefield (Part 2)


	11. Chapter 10: Tsubasa Gaiden - Love Dead In A Battlefield (Part 2)

Four years had passed since Junichi had found the letter in the Takemori Mansion and nothing had changed. The paper was ripped in such tiny pieces that gluing them somehow would be impossible. However, he could do it with a few pieces and got the words "change", "again" and "home". Whoever had wrote that probably had made it anonymous and as vague as possible, for only Tsubasa`s father to understand. Every single day when he woke up he looked at the pieces of paper inside the transparent pot he put them inside and felt bad. 

But he still wouldn`t give up.

***

Tsubasa, now 20 years old, had just woken up when she started hearing the discussion down there. She did recognize the two voices: they belonged to Junichi and her father. And they seemed really angry. The woman quickly changed into her regular clothes and ran downstairs to find the scene that she imagined would be, but still couldn`t ever see. Junichi and her father, were, indeed, discussing something. She found herself frozen and scared at that.

"I`ll give you 24 hours to tell Tsubasa the truth. I could just tell it to her, but I think it`s only fair for her to hear the truth from _you_ , the culprit of this all." Junichi said in a threatening manner.

"Just who do you think you are to talk to me like this, boy? How dare you treat me as if I were your equal?" her father retorted.

"I`m kindly giving you two choices," he stepped closer. "You either tell Tsubasa the truth and forget you`ve ever saw me, or I`ll have to tell Tsubasa myself. I didn`t tell her before because I knew she would suffer... but now I see that she has the right to now."

"There is a third one, idiot." Her father laughed. "You die in a random alley and Tsubasa forgets about you."

Tsubasa felt like something had exploded inside of her chest with the shock. Forcing her body to move, even if mechanically, she burst into the room, startling both of the men there.

"What..." Was the only thing she could say. "What is happening?"

"Answer your daughter`s question." Junichi ordered, staring at the older man.

"Go back to your room, Tsubasa. There`s nothing for you to see here. This is not something a girl like you should get involved in."

_'If you`re threatening to kill my friend, it is.'_

"Tsubasa..." Junichi sighed and looked down, probably to not see her reaction. "I... I`m really sorry. Your father...  has another woman and a son."

She could literally see her world crumbling after that statement. She threw her head to the side, to look at her father, who wasn`t even looking at her anymore, she was trying to see if there was denial or at least guilt or shame in his face. But he said nothing and looked just angry. He hadn`t even tried to defend himself, it could only mean it was true and her father had just wordlessly admitted he had abandoned her and her mother, he didn`t care, why? Why?

"Why?" Tsubasa gasped, starting to feel light-headed. Her body, mainly her hands, were shaking a lot and her body was now so numb and cold she didn`t even feel when Junichi placed his hands on her shoulder and waist to help her. "WHY?!"

Then the tears started rolling down her face nonstop and she let out a loud cry of anger and sorrow. Junichi helped her as she lowered her body to the floor, sitting there and just crying. Her father now was gone, out of the house. And Tsubasa was still on the floor crying, having only her friend to comfort her. Tsubasa understood without having to think.

***

Tsubasa, still 20, was now standing outside of her house. Some months had passed since she had discovered about her father cheating, and right after he tried to defect Soragakure, he had been killed on the borders. She still loved him, but she was so mad at that moment she didn`t even cry or get sad, not because of that. She was now in a much better state, having retained her usual happiness and teasing attitude. Of course she was sad, but not as much as she was before. So many years under Shou`s tutelage had teached her to be a versatile person.

That day, Junichi would bring her father`s son to Soragakure. She didn`t know much about him, she just knew that he had been abandoned by their father, and recently, by his mother too. She couldn`t help but feel bad for the boy, who had never had a proper parental or maternal figure. Tsubasa was eager, but scared to meet him. She wanted him to feel as comfortable as possible, so she and Junichi had planned a schedule last night, and decided the three of them would go in a restaurant together. They were also planning on calling Shou and Tenmaru, but both were too busy.

When she saw her former teammate walking in her direction, followed closely by a little boy, she smiled without even thinking and ran over to them. Junichi beamed back and nodded, and Tsubasa kneeled next to the boy. He was a cute child. He had short and messy light brown hair and blue eyes he could only had inherited from their father. But he looked just sad and tired.

"Hello..." the woman greeted, voice shaking a bit, with a smile. "My name is Tsubasa. I am your sister."

"But I don`t want my sister... I want my mother." the boy replied sheepishly.

"I... I know you do, dear. Believe me... if I could, I would bring your mother here. But I promise... I`ll try to be the best older sister as I can. Tell me... what`s your name? How old are you?"

"I`m Naoto. I`m eight."

Just eight years old and he was alone. No... now that he was there with her, he didn`t have to be alone anymore. Looking at him and remembering he was her half-brother was definitely weird, but also comforting in a way and she hoped both of them would get used to it eventually.

"What a beautiful name. Like I said, I`m Tsubasa, and that is Junichi. We`re here to help you."

He looked back at her with wide shining eyes. Just by that his expression had already changed so much.

"Help?"

"Yes... I`ll take care of you, as your sister. And there are other people who will also help you in any way they can. Everyone will do their best to make sure you love this place, Naoto. And we`ll love you."

What looked like a draft of a smile appeared on Naoto`s lips as he kept staring at Tsubasa with his big blue eyes. 

"Alright, enough talk! I`m hungry and I`m sure Naoto is hungry too, Tsubasa. How about we go to the restaurant now?" said Junichi, interrupting them loudly.

"Fine, fine... let`s do what this blockhead wants, or else he won`t stop complaining."

***

The three of them were sitting on chairs around a table. Junichi was on a side whereas Tsubasa and Naoto were on the other one, and she knew he had planned that for them to get closer. As Naoto childishly played with his own shirt, Tsubasa watched as Junichi made dramatic and exaggerated signs towards the boy with his head and hands, making facial expressions that were so funny she had to hold herself not to laugh due to a mix of desperation and awkwardness. She didn`t know how to start a conversation. Not at all. But just because of her own will and Junichi`s comedic pressure, she shot the first thing that passed through her mind at him.

"So, Naoto, how was it like where you stayed?" 

She turned her head completely towards him and he jerked his own head up, a little shocked she was talking to him. In the corner of her vision she could see Junichi making an OK sign cheerfully.

"There were many places," he replied simply. "We had to change often, because Dad was scared we would get discovered. They weren`t very comfortable, but it was alright."

"I see... and your mother..."

"She always took care of me. Sometimes Dad came to visit us, but he was scary. Mom loved me, but recently she started being more irritated at our situation. Then she left and she didn`t come back."

"Naoto, I... sorry."

Words couldn`t describe the sympathy she felt for him, so instead, she just hugged him. After a few seconds in the embrace, he returned it and wrapped his small hands tightly around her waist and closed his eyes. With her own still open, Tsubasa witnessed as Junichi made a silent party on his chair, even though she wished she hadn`t. Right in that moment, their dishes came. All were omurice. For the first time, Tsubasa saw Naoto give a smile, and a great one for that matter. He swallowed the food and his smile grew even larger.

"I love omurice! This tastes just like the one my Mother made to me!"

Before Naoto`s sad happiness, Tsubasa could only stay silent.

"Right, right! You two look adorable in that position, so... let`s take a picture of that!" Junichi then grabbed a camera and snapped a picture of the two of them.

***

Tsubasa was 24 years old. Naoto was 12 years old. The Second Shinobi World War had just been born. 

During the time of the First War, she was just 4 years old and so, stayed home and never got out. But everyone else did, and a great part of them, including her own grandfather, were killed in the battlefield. And that all happened exactly 20 years ago. Tsubasa had trained a lot through those 20 years and highly experienced in most ninja subjects, but war was something totally new to her. She was lost.

"Jii-chan..." the woman mumbled, sitting next to the grave where Hachiro Takemori was buried in. "I don`t know what to do. If you were here, you`d tell me to believe in myself and keep fighting... but how am I going to do that if I don`t know how to? It`s in those moments that I wish you were here the most... like you used to before. Playing with me, chatting about useless topics with me... just staying with me and giving me advice, or just being there. I miss you, Jii-chan..."

"Nee-chan!"

Tsubasa jerked her head up and noticed a boy running towards her. Naoto. He was smiling, and like always, had his Soragakure forehead protector on his forehead, shining almost as much as his smile. Ever since he had become a Genin, 2 years ago, he loved exhibiting that thing around to everyone. Tsubasa smiled back, and when he approached, Naoto sat down next to her.

"Naoto... what is it?"

"I asked Junichi nii-chan and Tenmaru-san where you were and they told me you were here, Nee-chan! So I came, because I wanted to visit Jii-chan and I wanted to see you before you leave for the war!" he said.

Seeing him now made Tsubasa remember the first time they had met. At first, Naoto was shy and quiet, never speaking unless necessary and often trying to hide his presence, but not much time was needed for his personality to change completely. He was just like a younger version of Junichi, but of course, less cocky and annoying. He and Tsubasa now had a bond, an unbreakable one, one that Tsubasa wouldn`t trade for anything. Naoto was her younger brother that she loved more than anything, and her deepest wish was to protect him and see him grow happy and healthy in Soragakure.

"How nice of you! But remember, this isn`t 'farewell'. This is just 'see you later'." she replied.

"Of course! You`re so strong, Nee-chan, and you`ll come back to keep taking care of me, like always! And then, I`ll become strong too, and I`ll become Tsukikage!" Naoto beamed. "Nee-chan, when will I be able to fight in this war too?"

"Fight? No, you aren`t going to fight, Naoto. You`re just a child."

"I may be young, but I`m far stronger than the other people my age, right? You were the one who said that!"

"Yes, you are. But it`s different. You`re still a Genin..."

"Well, but we`re losing too many people in the war... they`ll soon have to send children like me to the battlefield too, or else we won`t have anyone." Naoto said, matter-of-fact.

"What?! Who told you this, Naoto?!"

"Tenmaru-san did."

Tsubasa`s eyes widened.

"I... I don`t know what the hell was Tenmaru thinking when he told you this. But it`s not true, Naoto. We still have very experienced ninjas that can and will fight for our village. There`s no way Shou-sensei would let children go to the battlefield. Alright?"

The boy quietly nodded as Tsubasa was immersed in her thoughts.

_'Just what the hell is Tenmaru planning...'_

***

"I have a suggestion to make."

Around Tsubasa were some of the best ninjas in her generation, including her and her old teammates. In front of all of them were the Tsukikage, Shou Minami, along with some members of the council: Tsubaki Miyamoto, Tsukimaru Hajime and Fudou Murano. It almost felt like they were all in a classroom, which made Tsubasa smile to herself, especially because Shou was well-known for teaching many students. All of them were there to discuss the strategy they would use in the next important confronts, so it was, in a way, a class.

"What would that be, Tsubasa?" Shou said, in a stern voice that wasn`t characteristic of him.

"I can understand why we would be sending our ninjas in two-man cells, because we can spread around more in that way. However, I highly disagree with that tactic and I think that we already know it`s not effective." Tsubasa continued, standing. Everyone was spaying attention to her words. "I think that... if instead of doing that, we instead tried to send squads composed of three people, we would have much higher chances of being able to win fights and defend our village. Perhaps we could put someone specialized in attack, someone specialized in defense and a medical-nin in a team. This way the chances of all the members of the team getting out alive will increase in great scales. But for that, we would have to invest in the training of shinobi in those areas, developing a real structure. This should be one of our top priorities now."

Shou sighed. Tsubasa kept standing. She wouldn`t sit down until she had an answer, a positive one.

"Tsubasa... there is, indeed, much logic to what you say. But..."

"But what?!"

"We are in war now. We don`t have the time and the supplies necessary to executing that plan. All our funds are being destined to the maintenance of weapons and supplies. And there is no time to train ninjas in another area they aren`t experienced in... we need as much people in the battlefield as possible right now, unfortunately."

"What? We can`t spent all our money in that! There are other important things, too! How about the orphanage? How about the children?" Tsubasa slammed her hands against the table. "If we don`t establish a different kind of system, more people will die, and children will have to be used as weapons in the battlefield! Sensei, you--"

"That`s enough, Tsubasa! I`m trying to do the best I can to control the situation. And here, you don`t call me 'sensei'. I am the Second Tsukikage."

Tsubasa, then, lowered her head to stare down at the table, eyes wide with that. In Shou`s eyes, she saw a strictness she had never seen before, and regret too. She was shocked, because she realized Tenmaru had been right. Naoto would have to fight. There was no way to change that. She also felt the sad gaze of Junichi directed at her, but nothing else.

"However, as this is a discussion, naturally it will be up to vote. Is there anyone else who agrees with Tsubasa`s idea?"

"I do."

She looked at the direction of the voice, right on her left size. Right there was a man standing up just like her and she immediately started examining his physique. He was tall and slender, with skin so pale it reminded Tsubasa of the snow that fell sometime during the year in Soragakure. He also had long white hair with a tint of light blue that went down his waist and was cut very straight, just like the bangs that covered his forehead. Since he wasn`t looking at her, she couldn`t quite see his eyes, but she noticed they were a beautiful dark blue color in contrast with his serious expression.

"I support her idea because what she said is right, and sometimes, we really need to sacrifice things for the greater good. The children of this generation and of all generations are the future. They are what will determine what will be of us." he started, leaving Tsubasa completely baffled. "By sending them into the battlefield, we are throwing our village in the war and leading it to its own downfall. If we don`t divide our groups in the areas of defense, attack and medicine, this is what we`ll be eventually forced to do. So we have to do whatever we can to prevent it."

Everyone then started talking at once, but Tsubasa didn`t show any signs she was hearing. Her two eyes were focused only on that man. Who was he? And then all of a sudden he turned his head to her and smiled with a gentleness she had never seen. As her cheeks went red and she gave him a dumb smile, it felt as they were the only ones in the room, or maybe even in the world.

She liked it.

***

As soon as Tsubasa left the building, she began frantically searching for that man among the crowd. Where was he? He couldn`t have disappeared in thin air. Just knowing his name was enough. She needed to know at least a bit of info of him. But he seemed to be nowhere to be found.

"Heeeey, Nee-chan!"

_'Naoto?'_

Tsubasa turned around and saw her child half-brother running towards her with the smile he always carried, waving his hands above his head. She smiled back, still not forgetting about her true objective, and started walking in his direction to give him a hug. But then Naoto, who was running too fast in that crowded place, bumped into someone with such strength that he fell backwards and his forehead protector fell off his head, and the man almost fell too.

"Naoto!"

Tsubasa ran towards him and kneeled, grabbing his forehead protector.

"I`m sorry about this..." She lifted her head to look at the person and then her heart skipped not just one, but two beats. 

It was the man from before.

"Don`t worry about it. It`s totally fine! Here." He extended his hand gently and Naoto chuckled before using it to get up. He then extended his hand to Tsubasa, who gave him her hand. His hand was so big, and at the same time firm but gentle... they spent some seconds just holding hands before she got up.

"Thank you... for now, and for before too." 

"Again, don`t worry. It seems like we share our views about the world. It made me really glad to see you explaining that in front of everyone... normally when I start talking, people just say I`m crazy and tell me to shut up, so it was nice to be able to talk and hear someone talk freely." he said, smiling to her. "I`m Daichi. Daichi Fujimiya."

"I am..."

"Tsubasa Takemori, right? Yeah, I`ve heard about you before. I think everyone has... but I`ve been interested in you since I heard about you. Not just because of your beauty... but because you really seemed like me. Do you mind if I accompany you home?"

"It would be a true pleasure..."

Both of them smiled directly at each other.

***

In front of Tsubasa was a corridor leading to a dark room that had a table in the middle. Rainwater and blood were running down it. There was a white blanket, stained with blood from the inside, covering it. And there was her half-brother`s cadaver over it. The only thing she could still see, as his little body was hidden by the blanket, were his uncovered feet. They had took his sandals off. 

When she was informed about it she could only move, she couldn`t stay in place. But now she couldn`t move, she was frozen, but she was shaking because of the tension and fear and because she was soaking wet with cold rainwater all over her.

It couldn`t be. She refused to accept. It couldn`t be her little brother who was under all those bloody covered, bleeding out. It couldn`t be that 12-years old boy she met 4 years ago and shared her blood. It couldn`t be Naoto. 

"No." she gasped out. "No, no, no... no! NO!" 

Junichi and Tenmaru were there too. Junichi was by her side and Tenmaru was leaning against the wall.

"I don`t believe it`s him. It`s not him! Naoto... Naoto is Naoto because he is alive, he has a dream! Why..." she choked to Junichi or Tenmaru or both of them. She didn`t know. 

"I`m sorry."

Those words coming from Junichi made truth hit her hard. Tsubasa didn`t try to hold herself and fell on her knees, crying and wailing loudly. Junichi understood without having to think.

"Tsubasa!" screamed a voice coming closer.

Tsubasa recognized Daichi`s voice, but didn`t move or stop. He then threw himself next to her, or fell too, but in a minute he was kneeling next to her and hugging her. Both his hands were wrapped tightly against her whole body and his head was over them, and despite the coldness of the water he had on himself too, Tsubasa felt warm and fuzzy.

"Daichi," she managed to gasp out. "Take me away. Take me away from here. Please."

"Alright." He didn`t hesitate.

***

Time passed. Tsubasa and Daichi got closer, and slowly, found themselves falling for each other. This time it was something different than it was with Tenmaru before, she knew it. It was stronger and hotter, and it wasn`t growing more distant in any way. It was always growing stronger, and soon both of them started dating. Tenmaru couldn`t care less, because he had much more important things to worry about. Junichi felt happy, sad and angry. Happy because Tsubasa was happy. Sad because Tsubasa was happy with someone else. And angry at himself for not being able to help Tsubasa, and angry at himself because he was being selfish enough to be jealous in a moment like that. 

Tsubasa and Daichi always visited Naoto`s grave. Daichi hadn`t spent much time with the light-haired boy, but he loved children and had sympathized with him right away. Tsubasa tried to hide her feelings as much as possible, but her pain was plain on her orbs. 

"Tsuba," Daichi called her by her nickname.

It was late in the night and the two of them were in bed. Tsubasa had her back turned to Daichi, her nightdress exposing some of her skin.

"Yes?" she answered, trying to make the sleepiest voice she could.

"Are you alright?" 

Silence.

"I am alright. Why wouldn`t I be?"

"You`re not. Your voice is shaking. Tsuba, tell me the truth." His voice wasn`t angry, it was calm as always.

"I... I`m not fine." she admitted, still not turning to face him. "Most of the time I am. When I`m with you, I`m so happy... but when I`m alone, everything I can think about is Naoto. I can`t... it hurts so much. I wish Naoto was here by my side..."

"There`s nothing I can say now that will take away all that pain from you... so I`ll listen. You can talk to me about any and everything, Tsuba... I`ll listen to you." 

"Daichi... I wanted to... I wanted this war to end... I wanted to stay with Naoto, Junichi, Tenmaru and you forever... I wanted to be the best older sister I could to him. Naoto is dead now... before, I suffered because I couldn`t accept it. Now I`m suffering even more because I accepted it, and I want to forget everything but at the same time, I don`t." Tsubasa continued. "I love Naoto... I love him because I felt pity for him. Because both of us were the same... because he was my little brother. Because his dream was to protect the village... because he loved me too..."

She began weeping. Not crying, juts weeping, away from his view. 

"His deepest dream was to become Tsukikage... and my deepest dream was to make sure his dream got fulfilled. Naoto didn`t fail, I failed... because it was my responsibility to take care of him and everything to do with him. He was just a child, there was no way he could do it alone." More tears fled her eyes just like waterfalls, making the bed wet. "I`m always wondering if I could do something to prevent it. Could I do more for him? Could I... p-prevent h-his d-death?!"

And then the weeping evolved to real crying. Tsubasa was clinging to the bed, her hands already wet with her own tears, and she was letting loud sobs out. Daichi hugged her by her back as she cried. He didn`t move and he didn`t say anything. He just let her vent, stayed there with her and listened. Just that fact by itself gave her some comfort. For the first time since Naoto`s death, Tsubasa felt hopeful, like she could get over everything that happened as long as he was there, helping her.

She turned around on the bed to face him. There were brilliant tears welled up under his eyes, making his blue irises shine ever so beautifully. She had never stopped to notice how much his eyes were like Naoto`s. She had never stopped to notice how much Daichi was like Naoto in mostly everything. Just like Naoto, he maintained a smile on his lips now and gently placed his hand on her cheek, wiping away the tears.

"I will stay with you forever. I`ll help you, Tsuba, I promise this with my life." Daichi said. "You haven`t failed Naoto... what Naoto wanted was a peaceful village, one where everyone could be happy. I`ll help you accomplish his dream... I`ll become Tsukikage."

Tsubasa`s eyes widened.

_**"I`ll become strong too, and I`ll become Tsukikage!"** _

"Daichi..."

"I love you, Tsubasa... I love you more than anything else in the whole world. I want to be with you always..." He smiled even more. "When this war is over... I want to get married to you."

"Me too... I want to live with you as your wife... I want to have children with you in the future, too. After you become Tsukikage. A boy and a girl, how about that?" she said, smiling too.

"That sounds really perfect. It`s a promise."

He then softly pulled her closer and decreased the space between them, their noses nearly touching, and blonde locks mixing with light blue ones. As they finally started kissing, Tsubasa felt like the darkest places on her heart are being lightened up and the clodest ones are being warmed up.

***

The rain felt so cold and so hard that it was like there were ice cubes falling from the sky and hitting every part of Tsubasa`s body, which would eventually tear her skin and try to destroy her bones. But she barely noticed the feeling, because the warmth of Daichi`s blood was heating her arms. While she prayed to all deities with all her soul, she desperately tried to force her chakra into him, the green light lightening up his body.

His left leg had been almost completely blown up, destroying a great part of his kidney, and he was hemorrhaging so quickly that there was no way she could finish the operation.

"Tsu... ba..." Daichi whispered weakly, and while he said that, his eyes were frantic and scared, even though he was the bravest person Tsubasa ever met. "I don`t... want to die yet..."

He was growing colder and weaker with every second that went by, and his desperation was only making his condition worse. Tsubasa had to try making him calmer, quieter, but she herself wasn`t.

"Don`t try speaking!" she exclaimed, doing whatever she could to save him.

"Not here... not now..." he continued, as if he hadn`t heard her or didn`t care. "I don`t want... to die... please... help..."

"I-I`m trying to! You have t-to stay c-calm, D-Daichi!"

"I still... have so many... things left... to do... I can`t die... here..." the long-haired man choked out, a waterfall of blood spilling pass his white lips that were now red with his blood. "I want to... become Tsukikage... marry... you, and... have children... please..."

"And we will! I`m stopping the bleeding, you`ll be fine now, I swear, you won`t die!" the blonde woman screamed, trying to feign a smile and believe her own words. "Everything will be alright... you`ll survive..."

She could feel the penetrating stare of her comrades behind her. Aside from her and Daichi, Tenmaru and two other ninjas were in that mission.

"I will..." he gasped, choking just as if he was a little child crying. "...survive...?"

"Y-yes... you will survive!" 

"That`s really good... thank goodness, I`m glad... thank you... Tsuba..."

After saying just those words, his breath started fading considerably and his vision got so blurry he could no longer see her. Her hands, that were previously just warm, became hot as more dark arterial blood pumped over them, staining her arms, Daichi`s body and the floor around the two of them. There, she could feel his heart, and she felt as the pulsating muscle started becoming weaker and there was a larger time gap between each throb, and she knew what it meant. Before it was pulsing so fast, but his injuries mixed with his desperation and the effort the organ was making made it weaker and it was faltering. His heart stopped. She felt his pulse stop.

"No, no! Daichi, stop, come back! NO! NO!"

"It`s enough, Tsubasa, he`s already dead!" Tenmaru roared behind her, insensitive, seizing her shoulder roughly.

All she could do was scream and wail as she hugged his now-cold body one last time as if it could bring it to life again. Both pulse and breath had already left Daichi`s body, and both hope and happiness had already left Tsubasa`s.

***

It was just like last time. But Tsubasa wasn`t there.

Junichi and Tenmaru were together in a dark room, in front of them was a corridor that lead to another dark one. In the middle of said room was a big table made of cold stone in which there was rainwater and blood running down it towards the floor and a cadaver covered by a bloody white blanket. The last time it was Naoto. This time it was Daichi.

Was it too selfish of Junichi to be there just because of Tsubasa? He had never, never liked Daichi, ever since the first time he saw him. He respected the man and his ideals, because after all, they shared philosophies, but Junichi just disliked his guts a lot. Maybe because of pure jealousy and selfishness because Daichi was the one Tsubasa chose, but that was nobody but Junichi`s fault. And because in his opinion, Daichi was just a goody two-shoes and he couldn`t see why would Tsubasa get interested on him.

At some point, he just discovered that Daichi was perfect, flawless, and everything he did was better than what Junichi did. He couldn`t compete with a perfect man. Junichi never liked Daichi, but never, in one second, he wished for his death. If Tsubasa was happy, he was happy too, he could live with it. He didn`t want anything bad to befall them or their relationship. But that tragedy had taken place anyway.

"Oh, my God..." he whispered, covering his face with his hands.

So was it wrong for him to be there? Was it disrespect towards the dead? Junichi hoped that didn`t make him a bad person, and he apologized to every deity and Daichi`s spirit to forgive him for what he was about to do. He silently made his way towards the other room. Apart from being slightly darker than the other one and cold, differently from the other one, it also had a heavy, bad atmosphere to it. He stared down at the blanket for some seconds, before lifting his shaking hand and uncovering the body with a single swept.

It was a gruesome sight. He almost vomited. He dropped the bloody covers in the ground and stared down at Daichi`s cadaver. His skin was already paler than normal before, but now it was pure white, just like paper or snow. Both his eyes were closed and his mouth was ajar, giving him a painful expression. Junichi spotted many bruises at certain parts of his body, like he had been beaten up, and the blood coming out of them was already dark, almost black. He was wearing nothing but his pants now, they had taken his flak jacket off as soon as his body got there. His blueish white hair was all tangled and bloody, all around a part of the stone table, falling out of it but still attached to his head. Even if he was covered again, the tips of his hair would probably still be visible.

But that was not the worst part. The worst part was Daichi`s left leg, that was so damaged and bloody that Junichi actually wondered how were they able to carry him all the way back there without having it fall off. It was gross.

"Anyone who saw you there would think you actually cared about him." said a voice coming from the small corridor connecting the two rooms. Tenmaru.

"Tenmaru," Junichi said as calmly as he could.

The black-haired man was leaning against the wall, but as soon as his name was called he walked inside the room Junichi and the cadaver were in, slow and menacing. He stared down at the cadaver with a disturbing interest that almost made Junichi vomit.

"I saw it happen," he said, tranquil. Through the raven locks that had fell covering the sides of his face, Junichi spotted the corners of his mouth curled, as if he was smiling. "I think you can imagine how it went. It was bad to the point that Tsubasa didn`t even want to come see her lover. Differently from how it was with Naoto."

"How can you speak like that? Do you have no respect for human life?" the white-haired one shot.

"Do you have even a tiny bit of respect for _this_ human`s life?" Tenmaru shot back, spitting every word like it was venom.

"I do."

"Liar. How many times did you come complain to me? How many times were you walking with Tsubasa and then he appeared and took her away from you? Didn`t you hate him? Didn`t you? Are you seriously going to deny you`re overjoyed by the fact he is dead?" Tenmaru said quickly, turning to him and giving steps towards him with every question. "You don`t have to hide your emotions, Junichi. I`m your friend, isn`t that what you always say? I won`t judge you."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Junichi yelled, grabbing his shoulders as soon as he got close enough.

"You`re just like me. We`re the same. Won`t you help me?" Tenmaru continued, a sick grin on his face. 

"Help you with what?! Actually... actually, don`t say anything. I don`t want to hear anything else coming from you today, or else I`ll do something I`ll regret later." he let go of his former teammate`s shoulder by pushing him back. "You are _not_ okay, Tenmaru. Go rest."

And then he left, leaving only Tenmaru, his thoughts and Daichi`s cadaver in the room.

***

"You know, I..." Tsubasa started, taking a sip of her drink. "Kinda envy you."

Junichi turned his head to her, drinking his own cup of sake.

"You, envy me? Why would that happen?"

"Well, you... when you travel, I think that you can detach yourself from reality. That`s when problems and worries go away and you find truly happiness. I wish I could do that too."

"The war is over, Tsubasa. You can leave the village. Maybe the two of us could even go together one time..."

"I know I can... exactly because of that I don`t do it." she said, ignoring the flirt. "This village harbors all my painful past memories. I love Soragakure, but I can`t stand it anymore. Every place I go to makes me remember something, and then I suffer even more. So I think that if I leave, I won`t be able to come back."

"That`s why I`d accompany you. To make sure no harm befalls you and you come back home safely."

"Don`t be cocky, Junichi. Both of us know that, if I didn`t want to come back, you wouldn`t drag me back. You wouldn`t be able to hurt me, either physically or emotionally."

It was true.

"What could I do to make you as happy as you were before?"

"Bring me Naoto and Daichi back." she said, joking.

"Well, then, alright!" Junichi got up abruptly. "That`s what I`ll do!"

"Junichi..." she chuckled.

"It`s a promise, Tsubasa. One day, I`ll bring you Naoto and Daichi back, and I`ll make them Tsukikage. Just wait to see! Maybe then you can finally love me!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Don`t talk so loudly! Everyone is going to think you`re crazy!"

"Well, this is a promise, and everybody will be the witnesses! I`m going to bring Naoto and Daichi back to you, and they`ll become Tsukikage! And I will succeed!"

Tsubasa laughed more and finished her drink.

"Sometimes, I feel like you`re still that 7-years old child I met years ago."

"People may change in many aspects, but in the end, their spirit doesn`t change. I`m still Junichi. And because of that, you`ll have to wait for me to fulfill my promise."

"Fine. I`ll wait."

And she started waiting.


	12. Chapter 11: The Darkness of the Anbu

"Hey, Itaru!"

The young boy turned around after hearing his name being called, and, as expected, saw Yakumo Toragetsu, his former Jounin teacher. He looked just like he had always looked, perhaps just a bit taller, and then he stopped right in front of Itaru. Yes, he had indeed grown taller, because Itaru had to hold his head high to look at him.

"I`ve heard you were promoted to Chuunin," Yakumo said, smiling. "I wanted to say, congratulations."

"Thanks," Itaru replied gingerly. Should he still treat him as his teacher, or just like any other superior? Unable to decide, he just said 'thanks'.

"Do you want to go somewhere and discuss this more? If you have the time. There were some things I`d like to tell you."

He wasn`t busy, and he had no other reason whatsoever to say no, so he just shrugged in confirmation and both of them went to a little shop nearby. They sat on a table outside, and Itaru spent the first minutes of silence just staring at the pinkish orange sky of the afternoon.

"Itaru, I wanted to talk about your promotion." Yakumo announced, making the younger boy stare at him.

"What about it?"

"Well, of course you were promoted. You`re one of the most talented prodigies I`ve ever heard about, and I`m sure that, by adulthood, you`ll become one of the best ninjas that Soragakure ever had, and everyone will admire you." the man continued. "I know that. Everyone knows that. I`m sure you do, too. So it was obvious that, if you went to the exams, you would pass. But, as you know, I didn't recommend you for the exams."

Itaru continued paying even more attention now.

"I didn`t do that out of jealousy or just evilness, Itaru. I told you I did it because of your team, which is true, but it`s not everything. Most of the reason why I didn`t recommend you is because even despite everything, I was worried."

"Worried?"

"It`s a good thing that you`re this powerful, especially at this age... but you have to admit, it`s not normal. If you went to the exams, I feared that people from other villages would notice that and try to... eliminate you."

It did make sense. Itaru was an extraordinary ninja, and obviously a great weapon to fight for Soragakure in cases of any conflict with any other village. So the most logical solution was to take him out. He had never really tried thinking that way. And it did not only apply to people from other villages, if he started to think. Maybe even Sora ninjas could try doing it, for whatever reason. If he managed to make some of the other Uchiyama hate him even more, they could even end up doing it themselves.

He couldn`t trust anyone.

***

Itaru, still immersed in his thoughts, didn`t even pay attention to the voice calling his name until its owner finally appeared in front of him. Sachiko Uzumaki.

"Hey, Itaru! Congratulations on becoming Chuunin!" she said cheerfully.

"Thank you, Sachiko." he replied simply. "So you really decided to quit being a ninja."

"Yeah, I did. I just felt like it wasn`t my destiny, and I`m much better like this." Sachiko said. "Muka didn`t, though. But I didn`t hear of him anymore... I talked to Yakumo-sensei and he said he had been... 'transferred', and didn`t go into any more detail."

The only thing he could think about was the Anbu. The Anbu, that his father wanted to put him in. But there was no way Itaru could be compared to Muka, who hadn`t done practically anything during all their time as teammates. 

There were things that he just couldn`t understand.

***

Fudou stared at the table in front of him, avoiding direct eye contact with the person behind it, sitting on the Tsukikage chair. He was busy, and Shou should know that, so he better have a good excuse to call him there at that hour. Not that he could protest in any way.

"You called me, Shou?" he said bluntly, sitting down in his chair.

"There was a matter I wanted to hear your opinion on," Shou said with a seriousness that was uncharacteristic to him. "You`ll probably get interested. It`s about Itaru Uchiyama."

Just at the mention of Itaru`s name, Fudou lifted his head and tried to disguise his eagerness, but it was plain on his orbs.

"What about him?" he asked right after.

"His father... Kenshin Uchiyama, the head of the clan, as you probably know... he has shown interest in him joining Anbu."

Fudou had to hold himself to not shout in happiness at that moment, and faked it with a cough.

"Itaru in Anbu?"

"That`s what he wants, yes. I decided to talk to you about this first, and then, I`ll talk to Tsubaki and Tsukimaru. What do you think about this?"

Fudou looked down and spent a minute in silence. Naturally, his only possible response to that would be yes, but just saying it directly would arouse too much suspicion.

"I think you should let him in," he replied calmly. "Itaru is an exceptional shinobi. There is no reason why we would deny that request."

"That surprises me a little, but I think that`s what I expected." Shou said. "Out of this whole village, you are the one who suspects of the Uchiyama the most, but you see Itaru in a whole other way."

"I`m not prejudicial. I don`t hate the Uchiyama clan, I just think we should be careful around them for some past behavior. I treat them like I would treat anyone else, but since Itaru is one of the most capable ninjas from that clan, and from the whole village, I praise him."

"How about Shinsui Uchiyama?"

The whole atmosphere turned darker. Fudou`s eye twitched and he internally bit his lip while Shou kept staring at him, giving him silent pressure. Lastly, the leader of Hashi leaned back on his chair and sighed, his eyes closed.

"He is a prodigy, maybe even more skilled than Itaru." he said simply.

"I`m not asking for facts. You know what I mean, Fudou... that boy, he is..."

"Yes. I know that." Fudou said, before the Tsukikage could finish his sentence. 

"So you noticed it too..."

"...Kagari was my friend too, you know." There was a hint of a feeling that may have been either guilt or hate in his expression. "It was all an accident."

"That`s what you`ve been saying since it happened. I know."

"But let`s not deviate from the main subject, Shou. About Itaru Uchiyama`s admission in Anbu."

"Right. Sorry for that." the Tsukikage apologized. "Just like you said, Itaru is an exceptional shinobi, so there are no reasons to not let him in. He`s still 10 years old, which is a very young age... so I`m planning on letting him in after he turns 11 years old, some months ahead."

"Perfect."

***

Itaru was eleven years old. Honestly, he had never cared about parties or any kind of commemoration, but he liked his birthday parties a little. Because they meant that he was one year older, and he could see how much he had improved in training, and also because they meant he was closer to accomplishing his dream. Itaru had figured a long time ago that if he wanted peace in the world, he had to start by making his own village more peaceful, and he also needed to be important enough to talk to the leaders from other villages. And the Tsukikage position was compatible with all those conditions.

So Itaru had to grow, survive and train to become Tsukikage and bring peace to the world.

"Nii-san! You`re leaving?" Satsuki screamed as soon as Itaru took a step near the door. 

"Yes. I have to go meet with some people," Itaru replied, turning around to face his little brother.

Satsuki was still 5 years old, but soon he would turn 6 too. Which meant that, just like when Itaru himself had turned six, Satsuki would join the Academy.

"But today`s your birthday! I thought you would stay home with me!" the younger boy pouted, his dark bangs falling over his face as he wiggled his head. "There was a time that you said that soon you would spent the whole day with me... when will soon come?"

Itaru closed his eyes and gave him a little chuckle. Then he approached his younger brother and kneeled down next to him.

"Will you stay?" Satsuki asked again, smiling eagerly.

"I can`t stay today... but I`ll spend the whole day with you tomorrow. We`ll do everything you want. It`s a promise, alright?"

"A pinky promise?" Satsuki showed him his pinky finger.

"Yes. A pinky promise." Itaru then got up and turned around again. "See you later, Satsuki."

"What? Nii-san! You didn`t give me your finger! C`mon!"

***

"Oh, hey, Itaru!" Shinsui waved to him while leaning his foot against a tree. "You`re a bit late today."

Itaru approached him and slightly bowed. 

"I`m sorry for that."

"No, it`s completely fine! I don`t mind, really. I just wanted to know what happened, since you`re always so punctual." he said while putting some of the dart boards he had brought on the trees. 

"I was just talking to Satsuki."

Shinsui then turned around and approached Itaru with a smile.

"Itaru... happy birthday!" he announced cheerfully, ruffling the younger boy`s hair. "I wanted to give you a gift or something... but I don`t think it`ll be possible. I`m really sorry."

"Don`t worry about it. I don`t really care about gifts. And I know about your condition."

"Thanks. Even so, I`ll try my best to give you something good."

"I think that... just by helping me all this time, you`ve already given me the best gift I could receive from you."

Itaru had said those words in an impulse, but he watched silently as Shinsui`s eyes widened and a light blush took over his cheeks.

"Well, in this case, let`s begin training! I don`t want to let you down on the day of your birthday!"

***

The training was just like always. They started in a calmer way, just practicing their shurikenjutsu and the Osoidougan alone, and then they decided to spar. Itaru liked sparring with Shinsui, he liked his fighting style and tried to copy it and add his own touch to it. It was useful, it was nice. It made him feel less alone during missions and battles, but he had never told anyone about it.

"You`re seriously improving a lot, Itaru," Shinsui remarked, bringing the water bottle to his lips. "In the future, you`ll be even stronger than me. But I`m not going to let you surpass me now!"

"I don`t think I can surpass you ever. You`re too strong, and you`re always a step ahead of me."

"Ahh, c`mon, don`t say that. If I`m always a step ahead of you, then you have to take two steps."

Shinsui gave him the water bottle.

"My Father... wants me to join Anbu." Itaru sighed.

"Anbu? Really?" his friend replied, looking at him with wide eyes. "I don`t think there has ever been an Anbu as young as you in the story of Soragakure, Itaru. Not that I doubt you... you`re probably stronger than some people there. But you have to be careful... you know."

"Fudou Murano?" Itaru shot without having to think much.

"Exactly. He is the right-hand man of the Tsukikage, and if you join Anbu, he might try doing something to you." Shinsui sighed and buried his hands on his hair. "I just... don`t know. Whenever I look at that man, I have such a bad feeling... I`ve never even properly interacted with him, but whenever I hear his name or think of him, I get goosebumps and I get so defensive. I`m a bit paranoid when it comes to him for some reason, it`s weird."

"I think that later, today, I`m going there for the first time as an Anbu member."

He couldn`t exactly grasp what it felt like to go to Anbu. Was he anxious or happy? Nervous or sad? Itaru didn`t know. But certainly serving the Tsukikage directly would make him see his abilities and maybe he could convince Hachirouta to name him the next Tsukikage as soon as he assumed the position. So it wasn`t bad, not at all.

But, still, there was Fudou. He had to be extra careful around him. He couldn`t trust anyone.

***

"We can`t meet each other again any time soon." 

Tenmaru turned around and noticed Fudou standing on the door of his secret base. That time, he hadn`t even bothered himself enough to come inside properly. Tenmaru just ;et out a small sigh and walked towards him.

"Did something happen?"

"No, but if we keep going carelessly like this, it may as well do." Fudou said bluntly. "Itaru Uchiyama will join Anbu soon. If I want to convince Shou to transfer him to Hashi, I have to make him trust me the most he can. So I can`t risk him suspecting of me and you meeting up like this."

"You`d be a little late there... he already suspects of me. He sent Junichi, one of my old teammates, to spy on me."

_"So that was what he meant when he said he had sent him in a mission... damn you, Shou."_

"You weren`t careful, then... you let yourself get discovered." Fudou mumbled under his breath.

"The fact that the Second suspects of me isn`t recent, you know. It`s been on for a very long time... the only time he trusted and really loved me was when I was a child." Tenmaru retorted. "So I think we should speed up the plan."

"We can`t speed up the plan. Not now. When it is the time, it`ll happen... but now is not the time."

"What?" Tenmaru gave him a sly smile of mockery. "Are you too scared to kill your old teammate?"

"Look at how you talk to me, you feisty brat... God knows how much I hate Shou. But he will only die when the right time comes. That`s my final decision, and you know you can`t do anything without me."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Fudou clenched his fists at the smile the other man wore.

"If you don`t shut up right now," Fudou breathed in rage. "The one that will die is going to be _you_."

Tenmaru`s smile started gradually disappearing after that sentence. He then lowered his head, making it impossible for Fudou to see his features.

"Kill me... right? I see." he said quietly. "Understood."

Fudou decided he would not stick around any longer and left the room wordlessly.

He was almost sure he detected a strong killing intent coming from inside as soon as he left. 

***

"I have a mission for you, Sora. A very important one."

Sora nodded slightly, his blue eyes following the figure of Fudou, who was walking around his office.

"Yes, Fudou-sama."

"I want you to act as a spy to that man... Tenmaru. He`s becoming less and less trustworthy every second, so I need you to report every movement he makes to me. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Fudou-sama. When should I start?"

"Exactly right now."

***

Sora followed the black-haired man through Soragakure for the rest of the day. He took note of his every step. He was reluctant to follow Fudou`s orders recently, but he agreed anyway, because he had no choice. Hashi didn`t give anyone a choice.

Tenmaru stopped. The sudden act made Sora flinch and stop too, frozen in place. And then Tenmaru disappeared in the middle of the crowd, making the 14-years old boy look everywhere for signs of him.

Until he felt something touching his shoulder all of a sudden. Even though Sora was wearing his flak jacket and a black jacket covering his skin, Tenmaru`s hand was still cold, and he would go as far as to say he could feel the bones on his hand. Despite the cold, Sora could feel every drop of sweat present on his skin, and just that touch made him feel desperation as he had never felt before.

That shouldn`t happen. Ever since a young age, he had been trained to get rid of his emotions. They would only get him killed, Fudou had said. But he didn`t even know if he trusted Fudou anymore. There was a smoke bomb inside the pocket of his jacket. But his hand didn`t move.

"Don`t be afraid, child," Tenmaru whispered softly in his ear, covering Sora`s body with goosebumps. "I won`t do any harm to you. I just want to talk."

Sora didn`t move.

"You are... Sora, right?"

"How do you know my name." He asked the question so fast that it didn`t even sound like a question, and without even thinking, took a step ahead and turned around to look at Tenmaru.

"I`ve heard a little about you. Not just a little, actually... but this is not the place to talk about this."

And suddenly, Tenmaru started walking away in the opposite direction. Sora felt an impulse to follow him, and so he did, all of which mentally cursing himself for that weakness. The two of them eventually ended up in the park, the park that filled Sora with childhood memories and nostalgia. Both of them sat down in a bench.

"Were you spying on me, Sora?" Tenmaru asked with a smile on his face. Something about his tone and cocky smile made the boy feel disturbed and pressured.

"I..."

"Don`t be afraid. I`m not mad, I`m just asking you. Calm down. Just breathe and take your time."

"F... Fudou-sama sent me on a mission to spy on and report Tenmaru-san`s movements." Sora blurted out, looking down at his own legs because he couldn`t stare at Tenmaru after saying that. 

If he was any other member, he would be dead on the spot. Fudou had the habit of implanting cursed seals on all members of Hashi to avoid getting any information out. But Sora didn`t have that curse mark, because unlike the others, Fudou trusted him as his assistant.

"So that`s what he did... you`ve made the right choice by telling me, Sora." Tenmaru remarked. "So Fudou doesn`t think I`m trustworthy anymore, is that it?"

"Yes."

"Why do you still follow Fudou?"

Sora found himself at a loss of words. It shouldn`t have been like that. At the start, it wouldn`t have been like that.

"Hashi is the bridge that helps the Tsukikage reach the sky. Fudou-sama is the leader of Hashi. I want to help him achieve his goal. What we are doing is the best for the village."

"If you think like that, then why have you betrayed him just now? You know what Fudou does to the traitors in his organization, don`t you? Out of anyone, you were the one who should know that the most."

Sora panted in mild desperation and noted his hands were starting to get sweaty again. And then he felt Tenmaru`s cold hand again, this time over his back, and so bluntly that he jerked his body up.

"But, I mean... it`s not like Fudou _needs_ to know you are nothing but a dirty traitor now. Only you and me know that fact. You don`t seem stupid enough to commit suicide by reporting your own acts, and, if I don`t feel the need to, I won`t report you either."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I don`t plan on doing it, unless you become a major threat to my objectives, which you won`t, right?" The oversweet, sickening smile that hadn`t faltered since the start and the whole situation made Sora want to vomit.

"Why... why are you protecting me?"

"Because I want to help you. Those words you said just now about Fudou and Hashi... did you really mean them? Or did you just say it so that you would keep a strong façade in front of me? Sora."

They stayed in silence for a while.

"Either way, it`s alright," Tenmaru said then. "But I think that, even if just a little, you`ve asked yourself who you are. Are you simply one of Fudou`s pawns? What is your real identity?"

"I am Fudou-sama`s assistant. It`s my job to help him. He trusts me."

"Does he really?" Those three words were enough for what was left of Sora`s confidence to break. "Fudou seems to be interested in that boy named Itaru Uchiyama. He wants him to join Hashi, just like you. Do you know his real intentions?"

"No."

"I wonder why he didn`t tell you. It seems important, I think that if he trusted you he would say, right? And... let`s try an hypothetical situation now. If Fudou had to choose, who do you think he would kill, you or Itaru?"

He didn`t know. Would Fudou kill him?

"Fudou is only using you, Sora. To him... you`re nothing but a disposable pawn. When Itaru joins his organization, he might even replace you with him, I don`t doubt he would. Fudou has no respect for human life."

"What should I do?"

"You should try finding out who you really are. You are more than Fudou`s pawn, Sora. Much more. For all these years, that`s what you thought of yourself as... but now, you can finally find your true identity. You can stay on top again without being used."

Sora`s eyes widened and he began breathing quickly. Then the boy got up and ran away, but turned back to him.

"Thank you... thank you. Thank you." he said quickly, and soon wasn`t visible anymore.

Just after that, Tenmaru broke in maniacal, hysterical laughter.

***

Itaru opened the metal door in front of him making a loud stretching noise that covered his whole body in goosebumps, revealing many other people, all of them older than him, in the dark, small room inside. Some of them were glaring at him, and he could only see their faces through the light that came inside the room because of the open door.

"Hello," he said first, emotionlessly. "I am Itaru Uchiyama, and from now on, I`ll be your teammate in Anbu."


	13. Chapter 12: The First Mission

Itaru's first day in Anbu wasn't exciting. Not that he expected for a high-ranked mission to be assigned to him right in the first day, despite everything. The first day was basically higher experienced Anbu members teaching him how things worked around there, and while it happened, Itaru pretended not to notice some of them kept glaring at him very unfriendly. At least he had understood the rules and all that, but the thing that intrigued him the most was that he would most likely be paired with someone else to do missions. Permanent pairs weren't common, and they changed in most missions to increase the chances of success depending on the mission itself and the members' abilities.

"That's it. Come tomorrow for your first mission," said the masked man who was showing him around.

"I won't be able to," Itaru said as gently as he could.

"Why not?"

"Personal business." He had promised Satsuki he would spend the following day with him, and it would break his little brother's heart if he didn't fulfill it.

"The village should be above any 'personal business'." the man retorted sarcastically. Itaru said nothing. "You're dismissed for tomorrow."

"Thank you."

***

When Itaru went downstairs and the first thing he saw was Satsuki smiling brightly and staring at him eagerly, he knew it had been worth it. As much selfish as it was, he would do it again. Itaru smiled back to the younger boy, and Satsuki immediately ran to his direction.

"Nii-san! You promised you'd stay with me! You will, right? Right?"

"Of course I will. I promised, didn't I?" Itaru then proceeded to ruffle Satsuki's hair. "What do you want to do today, Satsuki?"

"I want to go train, like you do everyday! But the two of us together!" Satsuki didn't hesitate to blurt out. "Nii-san, I want you to teach me everything you know so I can become as strong as you and become the most powerful ninja in the whole world! Please!"

"I was planning on going training, so that's a good idea. Let's do like this... you get the dart boards and I'll get the kunai. Then we meet up again in the forest near home."

"Okay! I'll be the first one to get there!" Satsuki said and then ran off.

***

As expected, Itaru was the first one to get there, but Satsuki came a little after. The older boy then started distributing all the dart boards on the trees and gave Satsuki one of the kunai carefully so that he wouldn't get cut.

"I want you to throw those on the dart boards I put on the trees. Do you think you can do that?" he said calmly. "It's okay if you can't at first. We're here so I can help you, after all."

"'Kay, I'll try!"

Eager, Satsuki took a tighter hold of the kunai and threw it in the direction of the dart board, but it didn't even get near it and fell on the ground midway through.

"You have to put more strength into it, Satsuki. Try again."

The younger Uchiyama nodded and took the kunai again. However, it still didn't hit the board and instead, hit the tree itself, making some leaves fall and some birds fly away. 

"Not that much strength, Satsuki. You have to find a balance between strength and aim. Concentrate on your target, and only then, throw the kunai."

"Nii-san... I..." Satsuki sat down, and seeing his younger brother's sadness, Itaru sat down next to him. 

"Don't be sad. You're still just five, Satsuki, and you still have to train a lot. Plus... when you enroll in the Academy, you'll get trained by some of the best ninjas of Soragakure."

"I know... I know that. I'm sad because... I wanted to be like you." The boy lifted his head, revealing his teary eyes. "I've trained so much... Tou-san even came to see my progress personally one time. But it seems that no matter what I do, I never improve... Tou-san said that when you were my age, you were able to master all the jutsus you saw and hit all targets no matter where they were. But I can't even master the easiest jutsu ever and I can't hit a target that's right in front of my face."

"I... it's different. It's something entirely different... Satsuki. We're different people, so our abilities will show themselves at a different time. Living life in a rush won't do any good to you. As of now, please, just enjoy your childhood and spend as much time as you can playing with your friends."

Itaru had no childhood. His childhood was stolen from him at the age of 4, as soon as Hell materialized itself in front of him in the shape of war. He wanted Satsuki to be different, he wanted Satsuki to be happy, and he wanted Satsuki to be everything he was and everything he wasn't, a better version of him.

"I want to be a ninja when I grow up, Nii-san. I want to be strong."

"You will. You can be whatever you want... don't forget this."

Satsuki smiled. He was happy. And if Satsuki was happy, Itaru was happy too, so he also smiled.

***

As soon as Itaru came inside the Anbu headquarters, he was approached by a tall man wearing a mask. He was also wearing the traditional Anbu outfit, but Itaru was still heading to the locker room to get his. There was a notebook on his hand.

"Itaru... Uchiyama. Right?" the man said roughly.

"Yes."

"Go to the locked room and change yourself. Your partner will be waiting here to tell you your mission."

Wordlessly, Itaru nodded and continued his way to the locker room. His locked was tall, even taller than him and right next to the wall. He opened it and took everything off, then sat in the wooden bench between the two walls full of lockers and changed himself as quickly as he could.

When he got out, he was almost surprised to see someone already standing there. He was also wearing a mask, so his face was out of view, and he was leaning against the wall impatiently. Itaru grasped the sight of spiky, light hair of a mint green color on his head, some few strands falling over his mask. He seemed young, at the most, 25 years old.

"Finally you're out. Come." he said and left without waiting anymore. And his voice really was young, so Itaru assumed he was around 18 years old.

"Are you my partner?" Itaru asked as he followed closely.

"I wouldn't be asking you to come otherwise." 

"Sorry. I am Itaru Uchiyama."

"I know that. I'm Kiyoshi Kametsuki."

Kiyoshi Kametsuki was the name of his partner. Itaru kept that in mind.

"What is our mission?"

"We have to investigate the ruins of an old temple that was found in the forest surrounding Sora."

"What kind of temple?"

"We don't know, that's exactly why they sent us to investigate it! Enough questions. Just come on."

Itaru and Kiyoshi silently made their way to the forest, only to discover it wasn't any a bit less silent than them. Itaru took out his kunai and made sure not to let his guard down any time. When Kiyoshi stopped, he figured they had finally reached their location, and discovered he was right when he took sight of the ruins of what looked like a temple right in front of him. There were stones everywhere.

"Don't let your guard down now. Follow me."

"Yes."

But as soon as the two of them took the first step forwards, a dozen of shuriken and kunai were thrown right where they were. Agile, both Kiyoshi and Itaru managed to jump backwards right before they were hit on the head.

"Whoever is out there... come out!" Kiyoshi yelled, grabbing a kunai himself.

In response to his statement, five masked people got up from behind the rocks.

"You two... have dared to step near our lord's home." one of them said angrily. "For that... you are going to die, in the name of our lord."

"Just five of you? I'll end this in an instant." Kiyoshi declared indifferently, in a rather arrogant way in Itaru's opinion.

But then right after that, Itaru felt a strong bloodlust right behind the two of them, and saw seven more people. Twelve enemies in total. He wasn't going to be just like Kiyoshi and underestimate them like that.

"Osoidougan!" Itaru yelled as his sclera turned dark gray and his iris turned red. Just at that sight, the opponents backed off in awe, like they had no idea what was that, but bloodlust started oozing from their bodies right after that.

"Osoidougan..." Kiyoshi whispered lightly, then turned to Itaru. "Time to prove you're worth keeping this position."

"I will," the Uchiyama replied firmly. "I can take care of these seven here."

"I'm the one who should be giving orders as your senpai here, but if you're that confident of yourself, go on, Uchiyama."

People had the habit of calling him by his surname. Was it because of the popularity of his clan? Was it to make fun of him? Or was it because his name was not remarkable enough, opposed to his surname? Whatever the reason was, it didn't matter now, because Itaru would make sure Kiyoshi would never, ever forget his name again after that.

"Earth Style: Consecutive Earth Stairs!" one of the enemies on Itaru's side screamed, touching the ground.

At least one of them was an Earth Release user. Itaru was an Lightning Release user, and Lightning could easily subjugate Earth. Earth attacks usually came from the ground, so Itaru looked to the area beneath him, and as soon as he saw something sprouting right from behind him and felt his body being lifted from the ground, jumped to the side and watched as many stairs came from where the other was, nonstop, and then the whole structure fell to the ground again. Seeing Kiyoshi fighting many of the other enemies simultaneously, Itaru decided he had to start acting really offensively, and charged at one of the masked men.

The man lifted his kunai  to defend himself from the attack, and gasped at what he saw. His kunai wasn't touching Itaru's, but he couldn't bring it anymore forward, as there was a blue aura surrounding it. When he saw the slightest hint of movement at his sides with his Osoidougan, Itaru immediately jumped and kicked both people away. 

"Earth Release: Consecutive Earth Stairs!" The voice came from behind him this time. It was the same attack, so Itaru knew all about it already and jumped really high. Then, as he fell, he put his kunai in front of his body and pierced the ground just as the first step had started growing.

"Those two... those two are too strong! No attack we use has any effect against them!"

"We didn't come here to fight. We had no idea there were people living here... it's just that some of our comrades saw the ruins of your temple and we were sent to bring more information." Itaru said calmly, lowering his kunai. "We didn't mean to disturb you and we don't want to have to hurt you. We are sorry. Can you please let us go?"

The masked people looked at each other and started mumbling things to themselves, visibly calmer. Then one of them gave some steps forward and looked down at Itaru. Itaru didn't move and just looked up at him without blinking or looking away.

"If that's the case... you and your comrade are free to g--"

Before the sentence could be finished, a bloodcurdling scream erupted from behind them. Itaru turned around to see the most horrible scene, the scene he wanted to avoid at all costs, and froze on the spot. Kiyoshi was standing there, calmly, with no change in his behavior, but his right hand was completely red with blood that dripped from his fingers to the floor. On the ground was one of the masked men he was previously fighting, but with a large hole on the left side of his chest, bleeding out in the floor and motionless. The other ones were backing away from Kiyoshi. It was a brutal sight.

"You..." the man who was talking to Itaru uttered with such a hate on his tone and clenched his fists in anger. "ATTACK!"

Itaru jumped backwards, his back touching Kiyoshi's, and both of them watched as the remaining enemies started slowly walking on their direction, not in fear, but in anger and precaution. They were trying to surround them and finish them off. And Kiyoshi was still calm and indifferent to the whole situation, Itaru would go as far as to say he seemed bored.

"I guess I'll go all out..." the older male announced lowly, and out of the blue, took his mask. Itaru didn't mind, but the next word that left Kiyoshi's lips made him freeze in shock. "Osoidougan!"

There was no doubt that the thing on Kiyoshi's eye was an Osoidougan. The Osoidougan from the Uchiyama clan. But it wasn't in both eyes, just on the right one, while the other iris remained black and the sclera remained pure white and slightly bloodshot. And Kiyoshi didn't wait for anything, charging at the enemies and defeating all of them, making Itaru's jaw fall. That man had mastered the Osoidougan. But how? He wasn't from the Uchiyama clan. His surname was Kametsuki, not Uchiyama. Then how did he have the Osoidougan? Had he stolen it from an Uchiyama? Had he killed an Uchiyama? If he really had, he would be discovered and punished. So how...

Kiyoshi was about to deliver the final blow in all the men and Itaru started running in his direction, to stop him in any way. He would kill Kiyoshi if he needed to, he just didn't want so many people to die, not in front of him and in such a merciless way. But before Itaru could reach him, Kiyoshi suddenly grasped his eye as his face contorted in pain and he started seizing both the skin and the eye harder and fell on his knees, screaming. That gave enough time for their opponents to recover, and just before their kunai could pierce every part of Kiyoshi's body, smoke filled the entire area, blinding everyone.

When the smoke went down, the masked people were mortified to see there was no longer anybody there.

***

"Kiyoshi-senpai, are you alright?"

Both of them were now far away from the ruins of the temple. They were in another part of the forest, and one of Kiyoshi's arms was wrapped around Itaru's neck. The boy had cleverly used a smoke bomb for the two of them to escape safely. Kiyoshi now could only pant, out of breath, and with no strength left on his body to stand still.

"Put me down," he breathed, panting throughout the whole sentence and pausing.

Itaru obeyed, leaning Kiyoshi's body against a tree. The green-haired male was bent forwards, still panting and coughing. 

"Bring me... back to the... village..." Kiyoshi asked.

"Yes."

Itaru placed Kiyoshi's arm around his neck again and jumped on a tree branch in the direction of Soragakure.

***

It was afternoon when the two of them came back. Itaru said nothing, because he didn't have to say anything. As soon as he arrived pulling Kiyoshi's half-unconscious body to the headquarters, some Anbu specialized in medical ninjutsu came and took his body away from him. Assuming his mission had been accomplished, Itaru headed to the locker room, but still couldn't take the thought of what had happened away from his mind even for a second. An Osoidougan, he thought as he took out his shoulder protectors and placed them on his locker, that man has an Osoidougan.

"Oh, you're the boy who was placed in a team with Kiyoshi Kametsuki, aren't you? You're Uchiyama..." a feminine voice spoke out to him from the door and Itaru turned around to face its owner.

"Itaru. Itaru Uchiyama." he told her. "Yes, I was paired with him today."

"Ah, good to see he's the one in a bad condition and not you. How rare."

"Rare?" Itaru repeated, his eyes widening. "What do you mean?"

"Kiyoshi is ruthless. He doesn't mind killing to complete a mission, no matter who it is or how many people it is. He's just like a psychopath, he scares everyone... and everyone hates him, they're just too afraid to say it." the woman replied. "I heard that he killed the two people that were in his team when he was a Genin."

"Do you... do you know how he has an Osoidougan?"

"Ah, the Osoidougan... no, I have no idea. I wouldn't be surprised if he had killed someone to get it, though."

Itaru swallowed.

_'Kiyoshi Kametsuki...'_

His next mission would be self-administered. And it was to discover everything he could about Kiyoshi Kametsuki.

**Author's Note:**

> I`ve been planning on doing this story since a long time. Now that I finally have a plot (or at least random scattered ideas that I can make o plot out of), I can write it!  
> And if I don`t have any ideas to do a chapter, I can just make "fillers" >:3


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